Pentagon: missile defense test succeeds in shootdown

In the first test of its kind, the Pentagon on Monday carried out a "salvo" intercept of an unarmed missile soaring over the Pacific, using two interceptor missiles launched from underground silos in southern California.

Both interceptors zeroed in on the target a re-entry vehicle that had been launched 4,000 miles away atop an intercontintental-range missile, the Pentagon said.

The first interceptor hit and destroyed the re-entry vehicle, which in an actual attack would contain a warhead. The second interceptor hit a secondary object, as expected, according to a statement by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

The interceptors were launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The target missile was launched from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands.

"The system worked exactly as it was designed to do," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Samuel A. Greaves, director of the Missile Defense Agency. He said the test result "demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat."
"Success is better than failure, but because of the secrecy I have no idea how high the bar was set," she said. "How realistic was the test? The Pentagon had a very long way to go to demonstrate the system works in a real-world situation."