U.S.`s Successful MD Test

The Pentagon announced that a U.S. interceptor rocket knocked a dummy warhead over the South Pacific on the night of 3rd, for the third successful test of a prototype missile defense system. The interceptor, launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, collided with the artificial warhead 232 km out of the sky at about 10:29 p.m. EST (12:29 a.m. 4th), the military source said. The test was nearly identical to the successful one in July. The successful test implies that the United States can move toward more complex and realistic trials of anti-missile systems.

"A modified Minuteman II missile, carrying sensors instead of explosives, took off from Vandenberg Air Base at 9:59 p.m. EST and, after 22 minutes, the interceptor missile was launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific. It honed in on the dummy warhead to collide at 26,000 km/h, and destroyed it in the space." said the Pentagon. The dummy warhead also carried a large balloon to be discharged in an attempt to fool the interceptor.

The U.S. has succeeded in two of the four previous tests of $100 million.

Han Ki-Heung eligius@donga.com