Missile Defense System Hits Target in Critical Test

The U.S. missile defense system managed by the Boeing Co. hit a simulated enemy missile over the Pacific in a critical test, the Pentagon said.

A flight test for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, is launched by the 30th Space Wing and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sunday. The U.S. missile defense system, managed by the Boeing Co., hit a simulated enemy missile over the Pacific in the first successful intercept test of the program since 2008, sources briefed on the test results said.Gene Blevins / Reuters

/ Updated / Source: Reuters

The U.S. missile defense system managed by the Boeing Co. hit a simulated enemy missile over the Pacific in a critical test on Sunday, the Defense Department said.

"This is a very important step in our continuing efforts to improve and increase the reliability of our homeland ballistic missile defense system," the Missile Defense Agency's director, Vice Adm. James Syring, said in a statement.

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Image: Missile technicians watch launch — Technicians watch a missile test on Sunday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.Gene Blevins / Reuters

The Pentagon said initial indications showed that all components involved in the test performed as designed. It said program officials will spend the next several months assessing the performance of the system using telemetry and other data obtained during the test.

— Reuters