Pentagon: Test Of Alaska Missile Defense Radar Is Successful

Close-up photo of the face of the Cobra Dane radar system in Shemya, Alaska.


The Pentagon's said Monday it successfully tested an upgraded surveillance radar in Alaska for the first time as part of a national missile defense system.

A long-range ballistic missile was fired across the face of the Cobra Dane radar on Shemya island in Alaska, the Missile Defense Agency said.

"The target missile's flight was successfully tracked by the Cobra Dane radar," the agency said in a statement.

It said data obtained by the radar was relayed to command centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Fort Greely, Alaska which used it to aim interceptor missiles based in Alaska and California, the command.

No interceptor missiles were launched as part of this test.

The target missile was dropped from a C-17 transport plane, and then launched in the air 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from Shemya, mimicking the trajectory of a real missile fired across the Pacific at the United States.

It was the first time the upgraded radar had been tested as part of the ground-based missile defense system.

Past missile defense tests have involved launching target missiles from California over the Pacific, out of range of the Shemya radar and moving in the opposite direction from where a real missile attack would likely come.

The controversial system has been plagued by recent setbacks. The interceptor missiles failed to launch in two previous attempts.
Now let's get some nuclear tipped interceptors!!!