The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system did not shoot down a ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean during a scheduled intercept test Wednesday, the Missile Defense Agency announced. The intermediate-range target missile successfully flew from the Kwajalein Atoll in the western Pacific and the ground-based interceptor missile successfully fired from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., and deployed its kill vehicle for the hoped-for collision with the target missile in space. And all sensors, including the sea-based X-band radar system, performed as planned, stated MDA. Still the intercept did not occur. MDA said it will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the intercept failure. Officials will determine the timeline of the next test after they have identified the cause.
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…