AL.com:
The Pentagon will attempt to shoot down an intercontinental missile in a first-of-its-kind test planned for today.
The Missile Defense Agency, based at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal, will fire an interceptor from the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System at a target designed to simulate an intercontinental ballistic missile. The interceptor will be launched from Vanderberg Air Force Base in California with the target coming from the U.S. test range on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. If the test proceeds as planned, the two will collide over the Pacific.
It’s the first time the Pentagon has tried to shoot down an intercontinental-range target missile.
The threat from ICBMs – which could carry nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads – are a growing concern to the Pentagon as North Korea continues testing its own long-range missiles.
Tuesday’s U.S. test come at a pivotal time for the GMD’s future, with only nine of the past 17 attempts of the multi-billion-dollar system deemed successful. It was last successfully tested in June 2014, following a string of three back-to-back failures.
The GMD has been in place since 2004 but never used in combat. Boeing Defense is the prime contractor on the system, with subcontractors including Raytheon, Orbital Sciences and Northrop Grumman…
