Pentagon Says Missile Defense System Hit Target in Test

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The Pentagon said its $34 billion ground-based system to defend the continental U.S. successfully intercepted a dummy incoming missile for the first time since 2008.

The test, using a conventional warhead made by Raytheon Co., took place today over the Pacific, the Defense Department said in an e-mailed statement. The interceptor missile made by Orbital Sciences Corp. was fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Boeing Co. manages the ground-based missile defense program.