US successfully tests ICBM defence system for first time
WASHINGTON/VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE: The US military on Tuesday cheered a successful, first-ever missile defence test involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile, in a major milestone for a programme meant to defend against a mounting North Korean threat.
The US military fired an ICBMtype missile from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands towards the waters just south of Alaska. It then fired a missile to intercept it from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Experts compare the job to hitting a bullet with another bullet and note the complexity is magnified by the enormous distances involved.
The Missile Defence Agency said it was the first live-fire test against a simulated ICBM for the Groundbased Midcourse Defence (GMD), managed by Boeing Co, and hailed it as an “incredible accomplishment.”
“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 agency, said in a statement.
A successful test was by no means guaranteed and the Pentagon sought to manage expectations earlier in the day, noting that the United States had multiple ways to try to shoot down a missile from North Korea.
“This is one element of a broader missile defence strategy that we can use to employ against potential threats,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
Prior to Tuesday’s launch, the GMD system had successfully hit its target in only nine of 17 tests since 1999. The last test was in 2014.
North Korea has dramatically ramped up missile tests over the past year in its effort to develop an ICBM that can strike the US mainland.
The continental United States is around 9,000 km from North Korea. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 5,500 km, but some are designed to travel 10,000 km or farther. Riki Ellison, founder of the Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance, described the test as “vital” prior to launch.
“We are replicating our ability to defend the United States of America from North Korea, today,” Ellison said. Failure could have deepened concern about a programme that according to one estimate has so far cost more than $40 billion.
Its success could translate into calls by Congress to speed development.