US 'Most challenging' US missile defense test a success

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Army has successfully completed on Friday its "toughest test to date" of a ballistic missile defense system will be deployed in Europe to counter a missile threat from Iran, officials said.

"Early indications are that all components functioned as expected, " said Pentagon Missile Defense Agency, in a statement to the test over the Pacific Ocean in which the latter system Aegis ballistic missile defense weapon successfully intercept a medium-range missile threat.

"The two Space Tracking and demonstration surveillance satellites, launched in 2009 by MDA, has successfully acquired the target missile, providing" cradle to grave "stereo target tracking, " the agency said.

The soil-sea and the defense is to protect the United States and its European allies from a potential ballistic missile attack, perhaps North Korea or Iran.

The Defense Agency said the test "demonstrated the capacity of the first phase of the European Phased approach announced by the President in September 2009. "