U.S. declares success in missile interception test

The Missile Defense Agency emplaces an interceptor missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base May 2.

U.S. declares success in missile interception test
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military on Friday declared success in its latest missile interception test. An interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has successfully intercepted a target mock missile fired from Kodiak, Alaska, at 3:29 p.m. eastern time (2029 GMT), said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. The test over the Pacific was the first since September 2007 involving an attempted intercept by the U.S. missile defense system against long-range ballistic missiles. U.S. officials said it is a "realistic test" in terms of distance, trajectory, speed and timeframe against long-range missiles.

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U.S. tests missile defence shield The U.S. has successfully conducted an anti-missile defence system test in the Pacific. A long-range interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California shot down a missile with a dummy warhead fired from Kodiak, Alaska. U.S. military officials say the system is built to intercept long-range missiles that could be fired by North Korea or Iran. A lot is riding on the success of these tests for the Pentagon, as it has to prove the system's reliability in order to maintain the allotted budget from the government. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the test is seen as a crucial step towards an anti-missile shield that Washington plans to base in Eastern Europe. Friday’s interception was the eighth success out of 13 tests conducted since 1999