Jared Moya
September 2nd, 2006, 08:18 AM
The U.S. military shot down a target missile using its long-range missile defense system yesterday, the first time such a test has intercepted a mock enemy warhead since 2002, officials said.
An interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and collided with its target more than 100 miles above Earth, according to the Missile Defense Agency. The target, launched from Alaska, was the first to have a trajectory similar to the path a missile fired from North Korea might follow in an attack on West Coast cities.
Pentagon officials hailed the test as a major step forward for the nation's "shield" against incoming ballistic missiles, saying it vindicates their confidence in the military's ability to thwart an overseas launch of a missile carrying weapons of mass destruction.
But experts cautioned that the test lacked some real-world conditions, such as enemy efforts to defeat the missile defense system, a surprise attack and an attack involving multiple missiles. They said it does not indicate that the nation is secure from a missile attack.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101285_pf.html
An interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and collided with its target more than 100 miles above Earth, according to the Missile Defense Agency. The target, launched from Alaska, was the first to have a trajectory similar to the path a missile fired from North Korea might follow in an attack on West Coast cities.
Pentagon officials hailed the test as a major step forward for the nation's "shield" against incoming ballistic missiles, saying it vindicates their confidence in the military's ability to thwart an overseas launch of a missile carrying weapons of mass destruction.
But experts cautioned that the test lacked some real-world conditions, such as enemy efforts to defeat the missile defense system, a surprise attack and an attack involving multiple missiles. They said it does not indicate that the nation is secure from a missile attack.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101285_pf.html