US tests ICBM interceptor for the first time

Posted on 1 Jun 2017 by Michael Cruickshank
A missile is fired from Vandenburg AFB to intercept a mock ICBM. Image courtesy of the Missile Defense Agency.

The United States has successfully tested for the first time a system designed to defend the country against intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

A mock ICBM was launched from the Marshall Islands and flew over thousands of kilometers towards the US mainland before being intercepted mid-flight by another missile fired from the US Air Force base in Vandenberg, California. Over the course of the flight, the test ICBM was tracked and targeted by the massive floating ‘Sea-Based X-band…

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