Anti-missile agency claims to have successfully intercepted warfare interception

The missile defense agency said it has conducted another successful test of its ground-based interception system.

Monday's test was a missile carrying a dummy warhead from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the United States. Sensors followed the missile as it flew, and then two interceptors were launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The first interceptor managed to hit the dummy head over the Pacific. As designed, the second interceptor seemed to continue to search for a target, ultimately reaching the largest debris he could have found, according to Thomas Karako, Director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"It was the first salvo test," Karako said, citing the fact that several interceptors were shot at a target. This proved that the leak interceptor would not be baffled by the first and could continue to search for a target. This is important, says Karako, because if the system was used against a real nuclear warhead, several interceptors would be fired. "In case of real threat, they would draw more than one," he says.

This test is the latest in the ground-based ground-based ground defense system designed to attack intercontinental ballistic missiles from countries such as North Korea.

At present, 40 interceptors are based at Fort. Greely, Alaska and four at Vandenberg. The last test is the third success of recent years. In 2017, only one interceptor struck a single warhead during a similar test. And in 2014, an interceptor struck an ogive delivered by a missile of ballistic missile of intermediate range.

"I think yesterday's test contributes significantly to the confidence of the fighter and the American people," said Karako. "This system is still proven."

But not everyone is convinced. "The test was very secretive, more than in the past," says Laura Grego, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Grego notes that details on the nature of the interception make it difficult to know if the system would work in the real world. "It was a success, but public information does not tell us how high the bar was."

Karako says that the system as it is currently configured can offer some defense against a small nuclear starter like North Korea. But he says it would be easily overwhelmed by the larger nuclear arsenals of countries such as Russia and China.

Grego warns against any use of the system. "We should not think about the [Ground-Based Midcourse Defense] as a robust defense, or a strong deterrent. It does not protect in the real sense of the world, "she said.

The Pentagon's defense of missile defense calls for increasing the number of interceptors to 64 as early as 2023. Even that would not provide a global defense, and the report also calls for investigation of space systems likely to provide a more complete coverage.

Earlier this year, President Trump called for a missile defense system capable of "detecting and destroying any missile launched against the United States, no matter where, no matter when, and no matter. or".