MDA releases video of GMD intercept

The Missile Defense Agency this morning released a video of this week's successful intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean.

As Inside Defense reported yesterday, the test marked a first-ever attempt to intercept an ICBM target -- designed to represent a threat, with countermeasures, that U.S. intelligence believes North Korea or Iran could one day field -- and also the first intercept attempt of a Ground-based Interceptor armed with a second-generation warhead, the Capability Enhancement-II Block I Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle:

"The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment for the GMD system and a critical milestone for this program," said MDA Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring in a statement. "This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat."

During the test, designated Flight Test Ground-Based Interceptor (FTG)-15, an ICBM-class target was launched from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands and then identified, tracked and targeted by a network of sensors -- including the Sea Based X-Band Radar -- and command-and-control systems. A GBI was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, and destroyed the ICBM target with its CE-II Block I exoatmospheric kill vehicle.

Read the full story here.

Check out the video below.