The Missile Defense Agency conducted a flight test today of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System.

A target missile was successfully launched at approximately 3:40 p.m. PST from the U.S. Army?s Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.? Approximately six minutes later, a Ground-Based Interceptor was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.? Both the target missile and Ground-Based Interceptor performed nominally after launch. ?However, the Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as expected.

Program officials will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure to intercept.