US Missile Defense System Passes Test

On Friday, December 5th a long range ballistic missile was fired from Alaska was destroyed by a California-based interceptor missile. The test itself wasn’t fully successful, as the ballistic missile failed to deploy countermeasures to test if the interceptor would choose the the warhead instead of the decoy(s). The USSR developed missile defense countermeasures on their ICBMS, huge “balloons” that supposedly would fool the interceptor missiles. Regardless, I think the technology and precision displayed by the interceptor, hitting a rocket in air, is commendable.

This is not a first, as one might think. Anti-ballistic missiles have already been around for quite some time, and two ABM systems have already been successful against ICBMs including Russia’s A-35 and the United State’s Safeguard system (LIM-49 and Sprint missiles).

The first anti-missile systems were conceived by the British while trying to shoot down German V-1 and V-2 rockets using concentrated artillery gun (flak) fire.

Above: A German V-2 Being Launched from France towards England during WWII.