WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A projectile weapon destroyed a mock warhead in space over the Pacific Ocean after accurately choosing the target over three nearby decoy balloons in a successful test of the U.S. missile defense program, the Pentagon (news - web sites) said on Friday.
It was the fourth test since 1999 to be successful in U.S. efforts to develop a shield against a missile attack from potentially hostile states such as North Korea (news - web sites), Iran and Iraq.
Friday's test, costing more than $100 million, deployed three inflated balloons in space to see if a test weapon could be diverted from tracking and colliding with a dummy warhead launched westward over the ocean from California. Previous tests had used only one decoy balloon.
Russia and China oppose the planned U.S. missile shield, saying it could lead to an arms race. But the United States is withdrawing from the 1972 anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty between Moscow and Washington and pressing ahead with increased determination after the Sept. 11 attacks on America.
In the test, a projectile weapon fired from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific intercepted and destroyed a mock warhead launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, about 4,800 miles away.