The U.S. military, in a major test of the Ballistic Missile Defense System, destroyed an intercontinental ballistic missile target with a pair of Ground-based Interceptors in the first-ever salvo launch of the homeland defense guided-missile fleet, an event likely to bolster confidence in the current fielded system and the exoatmospheric kill vehicle in particular. At about 10:30 am local time, the first GBI was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, to chase an ICBM target launched more than 4,000...