Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)
2013
Jan. 26, 2013
The Missile Defense Agency successfully conducted a flight test of a three-stage Ground-Based Interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
2012
Feb. 25, 2012
The first clear skies in days provide plenty of light as technicians prepare a Ground Based Interceptor for emplacement into Missile Field 2 at the Missile Defense Complex in Ft. Greely, Alaska. This historic event marks the very first GBI emplaced in the recently completed Missile Field. Photo by Ralph Scott, MDA Public Affairs.
2010
Dec. 15, 2010
The Missile Defense Agency was unable to achieve a planned intercept of a ballistic missile target during a test over the Pacific Ocean today. The flight test included the successful flight of an intermediate-range ballistic missile target from Ronald Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and a long-range interceptor missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch Viewing
Interceptor Launch
June 6, 2010
A two-stage Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. After separating from the second-stage booster, the exoatmospheric kill vehicle executed a variety of maneuvers to collect data to further prove the performance of the kill vehicle in space.
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Jan. 31, 2010
The Missile Defense Agency conducted a flight test 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.
Jan. 11, 2010
Lieutenant General Patrick J. O'Reilly, Missile Defense Agency, Director, visits the missile defense complex in Fort Greely, Alaska.
2009
June 1, 2009
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates talks to Col. Bond, U.S. Army, at a ground-based interceptor missile silo at Fort Greely, Alaska. (DoD photo by Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison, U.S. Air Force)
2008
Dec. 5, 2008
A Ground-Based Interceptor is shown shortly after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on December 5, 2008. The launch, designated FTG-05, was a test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. The missile successfully intercepted a long-range target launched from Kodiak, Alaska several minutes earlier. (Photo - Missile Defense Agency)
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Infrared Imagery
Target Launch
Interceptor Launch
July 18, 2008
The San Diego-based USS Milius (DDG 69), shown below. was one of several military sensors used in the July 18 Missile Defense Agency test, where a threat-representative target was flown from the Kodiak Launch Complex over the Pacific Ocean. The Milius used its shipboard radar to detect, track and feed information on the target to other command and control assets involved in the test. The ship also used its fire control system to conduct a simulated intercept of the target.
2007
Sept. 28, 2007
A Ground-Based Interceptor is shown shortly after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The launch was a test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. The missile intercepted a long-range target that had been launched from Kodiak, Alaska several minutes earlier.
Sept. 28, 2007
Target — A long-range Strategic Targets System (STARS) rocket is launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska on September 28, 2007. The rocket was successfully intercepted by a Ground-Based Interceptor launched from Vandenberg, AFB, Calif., as part of a Ballistic Missile Defense System flight test.
May 25, 2007
Alaska National Guard members of Bravo Crew, 49th Missile Defense Battalion, operate the ground-based midcourse defense portion of the Ballistic Missile Defense System May 5, 2007, at Fort Greely, Alaska. The system has been manned 24/7 since achieving limited defensive capability in 2004. (Photo by Army Sgt. Jack W. Carlson III, Alaska Army National Guard)
May 5, 2007
Alaska National Guard members of Bravo Crew, 49th Missile Defense Battalion, operate the ground-based midcourse defense portion of the Ballistic Missile Defense System May 5, 2007, at Fort Greely, Alaska. The system has been manned 24/7 since achieving limited defensive capability in 2004. (Photo by Army Sgt. Jack W. Carlson III, Alaska Army National Guard)
2006
Sept. 1, 2006
A Ground-Based Interceptor is shown shortly after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB, California on September 1, 2006. The launch was part of a Missile Defense Agency test of the Ballistic Missile Defense System it is designing against threats in all phases and ranges of flight. The missile intercepted a long-range target that had been launched from Kodiak, Alaska several minutes earlier. The test was the fourth successful flight test intercept in 90 days for the Agency.
Feb. 27, 2006
A long-range Strategic Targets System (STARS) rocket is launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska on February 24, 2006. The rocket was successfully tracked by the Beale AFB radar during the exercise, and target data, including a weapon task plan (firing solution), was successfully transmitted to the Joint National Integration Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. where it was inputted into the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communication system for the Ballistic Missile Defense System.
Feb. 24, 2006
A long-range Strategic Targets System (STARS) rocket is launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska on February 24, 2006. The rocket was successfully tracked by the Beale AFB radar during the exercise, and target data, including a weapon task plan (firing solution), was successfully transmitted to the Joint National Integration Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. where it was inputted into the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communication system for the Ballistic Missile Defense System.
2005
Dec. 18, 2005
On December 18, 2005 the eighth interceptor missile was emplaced at Ft. Greely, Alaska. Two interceptors are emplaced at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Dec. 13, 2005
On December 13, 2005 an operationally-configured Ground-based interceptor missile designed to protect the United States against a limited long-range ballistic missile attack was successfully launched. The interceptor missile was launched at approximately 3:04 p.m. (local time, December 14); (10:04 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, December 13) from the Ronald Reagan Test Site, Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the central Pacific Ocean. For this exercise, there was a simulated launch of a target missile from Kodiak, Alaska using data from previous launches.
Nov. 3, 2005
Successful static fire test of the Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Orion stage 1 rocket motor of an Orbital Boost Vehicle on 3 November, 2005.
2004
Nov. 11, 2004
The sixth Ground-based Interceptor missile is lowered into its underground silo at Ft. Greely, Alaska on November 11, 2004. The interceptor is part of a missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles. Although the system will have a limited initial capability, it will be the first time the United States will have a missile defense system to protect all 50 states.
Sept. 25, 2004
The fifth Ground-based Interceptor missile is lowered into its underground silo at Ft. Greely, Alaska on September 25, 2004. The interceptor is part of a missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles. Although the system will have a limited initial capability, it will be the first time the United States will have a missile defense system to protect all 50 states.
Sept. 22, 2004
The fourth Ground-based Interceptor missile is lowered into its underground silo at Ft. Greely, Alaska on September 22, 2004. Two additional interceptors are planned to be emplaced by mid-October, for a total of six interceptors at the site. Two interceptors are also planned for emplacement later this year at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The interceptors are part of a missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy a long-range ballistic missile aimed at any of our 50 states. Although the system will have a limited initial capability, it will be the first time the United States will have a missile defense system to protect all 50 states.
Sept. 15, 2004
The third Ground-based Interceptor was transported to its silo and emplaced on September 15, 2004. The interceptor is designed to destroy incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles before they reach U.S. airspace.
Sept. 4, 2004
The second interceptor missile designed to intercept and destroy a long-range ballistic missile is emplaced into its underground silo at Fort Greely, Alaska on September 4, 2004.
July 22, 2004
The first Ground-based Interceptor is lowered into its silo at the Missile Defense Complex at Fort Greely, Alaska on July 22, 2004. The interceptor is designed to destroy incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles before they reach U.S. airspace.
Jan. 24, 2004
Sequenced video from Integrated Flight Test 13b.
2003
May 2003
One of the first two missile silos to be installed at Fort Greely makes its way to the post from Valdez, Alaska. Part of the Missile Defense Test Bed and Initial Defense Operations, the first silos arrived in May 2003 and were installed into 80-foot holes drilled last year. The silos were barged from the manufacturer in Vancouver, Wash., to Valdez and loaded onto a custom-built truck for the last 286 miles of the trip on land. The remaining silos and equipment will be shipped this summer and installed by the end of September 2003.
Feb. 6, 2003
Target — Team Vandenberg successfully launched a Taurus Lite vehicle booster test Feb. 6, 2003 at 1 p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST) in support of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program. The booster, a Taurus/Pegasus/Minotaur derivative with no payload, was launched from atop a concrete pad rather than a silo.
Feb. 6, 2003
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced today the completion last night of another successful flight test involving a new booster rocket designed to support the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system to intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles of the type that could be aimed at any of our 50 states. This was a test of the primary booster to be fielded with the GMD system later this year, and included measurement of booster performance and the participation of an integrated architecture designed to detect and track a target missile, launch the interceptor missile, and provide detailed target identification, tracking and communication to the interceptor missile. No intercept took place, as the target missile was simulated for this test.
2002
Dec. 11, 2002
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced Dec. 11 it was not able to complete a test involving the planned intercept of a long-range ballistic missile target over the central Pacific Ocean when the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) interceptor and the booster rocket failed to separate, preventing the EKV from engaging the target warhead in space.
Kill Vehicle
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Kill Vehicle
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor on Launch Pad
Oct. 14, 2002
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) successfully completed a flight test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) development program, intercepting an intercontinental ballistic missile target over the central Pacific Ocean in the Western Test Range. A modified Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 10:00 p.m. EDT, and a prototype interceptor was launched approximately 22 minutes later and 4,800 miles away from the Ronald Reagan Missile Site, Kwajalein Atoll, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The intercept took place approximately six minutes after the interceptor was launched, at an altitude in excess of 140 miles above the earth, and during the midcourse phase of the target warhead's flight. This was the fifth successful intercept and the fourth consecutive--in seven flight tests since October 1999 for the GMD program.
Interceptor on Launch Pad
Kill Vehicle
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Intercept Imagery
Interceptor on Launch Pad
Interceptor on Launch Pad
Interceptor Launch
March 15, 2002
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) achieved a successful intercept of a ballistic missile target on March 15, 2002. The test successfully demonstrated exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) flight performance and "hit-to-kill" technology to intercept and destroy a long-range ballistic missile target.
2001
Dec. 3, 2001
The Missile Defense Agency successfully completed a test involving a planned intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target on December 3, 2001. The test took place over the central Pacific Ocean with a modified Minuteman ICBM target vehicle launched from Vandenberg AFB, CA and a prototype interceptor launched from Kwajalein Atoll.
Target Launch
Target Prior to Launch
Intercept Imagery
Intercept Imagery
Intercept Imagery
Interceptor Prior to Launch
Interceptor Prior to Launch
Interceptor Launch
Interceptor Launch
Kill Vehicle
Dec. 3, 2001
Successful test involving a planned intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target. A modified Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 10:00 p.m. EST, and a prototype interceptor was launched approximately 20 minutes later and 4,800 miles away from the Ronald Reagan Missile Site Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The intercept took place approximately 10 minutes after the interceptor was launched, at an altitude in excess of 140 miles above the earth, and during the midcourse phase of the target warhead's flight. This was the third successful intercept for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, formerly known as National Missile Defense.
July 14, 2001
Successful test involving a planned intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target.
