The US military said Tuesday it had intercepted a mock-up of an intercontinental ballistic missile in a first-of-its-kind test that comes amid concerns over North Korea' s weapons program. Current top breaking Philippine headlines regarding the nation, world, metro manila…
The US military said Tuesday it had intercepted a mock-up of an intercontinental ballistic missile in a first-of-its-kind test that comes amid concerns over North Korea’s weapons program. A ground-based interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California « successfully intercepted an intercontinental ballistic missile target » fired from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands, the military said in a statement. The test saw a rocket from the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system blast into space and then deploy its « exo-atmospheric kill vehicle, » which smashed into the dummy ICBM, destroying it in a direct collision. « This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat, » Vice Admiral Jim Syring, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, was quoted as saying. The exercise marked a significant step for the GMD system, which has had a checkered record in previous tests. Though it succeeded in the last test in 2014, it failed during the three prior attempts against slower-moving, non-ICBM missiles.
