The US military said Tuesday it had intercepted a mock-up of an intercontinental ballistic missile in a first-of-its-kind test that comes amid concerns over North Korea’s weapons programme.
A ground-based interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California “successfully intercepted an intercontinental ballistic missile target” fired from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands, the military said in a statement.
“This system is vitally important to the defence of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat,” Vice Admiral Jim Syring, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, was quoted as saying.
The exercise aimed to check the performance of the Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) system, which has had a chequered record in previous tests.
Though it succeeded in the last test in 2014, it failed during the three prior attempts against slower-moving, non-ICBM missiles.
“The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment for the GMD system and a critical milestone for this programme,” said Syring.