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Hopefully, the next test will be on one of Kim Dum Un’s toys.
A ground-based interceptor launched Tuesday from Southern California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base shot down a simulated incoming warhead as part of a U.S. defense system test.
The drill at the Santa Barbara County base is designed to prepare for any North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile strike and marked an important milestone in the defense system’s development. The interceptor was launched from Vandenberg AFB at midday and targeted a simulated incoming warhead launched from the central Pacific Ocean.
The test launch, the first of its kind in nearly three years, was seen from miles away, but the missile intercept was not visible, according to the air base. The interceptor struck the mock warhead as it traveled outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
The test was planned amid what are regarded as provocations by North Korea, which, as of last week, has carried out three missile tests in three weeks. The most recent North Korean test involved a short-range ballistic missile that traveled about 250 miles before splashing down in Japan’s “exclusive economic zone” near the coast.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to deploy a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching American territory. The North Koreans have not yet tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The American interceptor has an uneven track record, having succeeded nine times out of 17 attempts against missiles in test since 1999, although the most recent test — in June 2014 — was a success. A test failure would have raised new questions about the defensive system, but wasn’t likely to compel the Pentagon to abandon expansion plans.