U.S. Missile Interceptor Passes Test

A missile interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Friday destroyed a target projectile flying from Alaska in a test of the U.S. missile defense system, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, June 28).

Launched from an underground silo just after 1:15 p.m., the ICBM interceptor eliminated the mock enemy missile that took off from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, said the Boeing Co., the main contractor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System.

Early evaluations of the test data indicated that the interceptor missile’s rocket motor system and exoatmospheric kill vehicle functioned as expected (Associated Press/Google News, Sept. 29).

The interceptor destroyed the missile by colliding with it, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said.

The target missile was also successfully tracked by the SPY-1 radar carried by an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ship, the Sea-Based X-Band radar and the Upgraded Early Warning Radar at Beale Air Force Base in California, the agency said.

The land and sea-based radars tested were components of an extensive ballistic missile detection framework being developed by the agency (U.S.  Missile Defense Agency release, Sept 28).

Over the next five years, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is expected to spend $49 billion on developing and deploying the ballistic missile defense program (Associated Press).

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