A US long-range missile test simulating the interception of an Iranian 'ballistic missile' has failed over the Pacific Ocean, reports say.The US military fired a ballistic missile from the west Pacific island of Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands late on Monday and minutes later launched an interceptor missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in an attempt to shoot down the ballistic missile.
However, the interceptor failed to destroy the target due to radar problems, the US Missile Defense Agency said.
The US Air Force says both missiles performed well during the launch and the flight phases but the system's sea-based radar fell short of expectations.
According to Reuters, the test was meant to simulate the interception of Iranian 'ballistic missiles.'
Reuters quoted Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, the head of the Missile Defense Agency, as having said in December 2009 that the $150 million test “would break new ground” by “defending against an Iranian shot into the United States."
In the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Review published on Monday, the US Department of Defense warned against, what it called, Iran's 'significant threat' to the US and accused the country of 'having developed and acquired ballistic missiles.'
The United States has recently increased its missile activities in the Mediterranean and also in the Persian Gulf states of Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain under the pretext of taking precautions in regard to the "regional threat."
