The Missile Defense Agency last week completed an Airborne Laser Test Bed intercept attempt against a boosting short-range ballistic missile but failed to destroy the target. The agency held the test after postponing it four times in August. According to a statement released by MDA spokesman Richard Lehner, the Airborne Laser Test Bed "successfully tracked and initiated engagement with its high-energy laser against the threat-representative short-range ballistic missile target during the boost phase of flight, but the lasing prematurely terminated...
