Another successful missile defense test

A prototype ground-based interceptor successfully destroyed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target vehicle 140 miles over the Pacific Ocean, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced October 14.

The test demonstrated “hit-to-kill” technology against enemy ICBMs, and also proved the “integrated operation of space and ground-based sensors and radars, as well as the Battle as well as the Battle Management, Command, Control and Communications System (BMC3) function to detect the launch of the target missile, cue an early warning radar to provide more detailed target location data; and integration of a prototype X-Band radar (based at Kwajalein) to provide precise target data to the EKV,” according to the MDA.

The test also involved the first-ever participation of a U.S. Navy Aegis destroyer, in what is hailed as an early step toward the use of sea-based platforms for missile defense.