Pentagon Plans Next Major Missile Intercept Test for Late May
- Test of $36 billion Boeing system is first since June 2014
- Success could bolster Trump’s stance toward North Korea
Why a U.S. Missile Defense System Is Angering China
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The Pentagon has tentatively scheduled for late May the next intercept test of its $36 billion ground-based missile defense system -- the first in nearly three years, according to a spokesman.
With North Korea ramping up its ballistic missile development and President Donald Trump vowing to rein in Kim Jong-un’s regime, the success of missile defense efforts has taken on heightened importance in Washington. The head of the U.S. Strategic Command, Air Force General John Hyten, told a Senate panel this week that “although North Korea is not an existential threat,” it’s “the most dangerous and unpredictable actor in the Pacific region.”