Here’s a great post at Closing Velocity on today’s successful test of the Ground-Based Interceptor missile defense system: ‘MARK INDIA!’ = Mark Intercept: GBI Successfully Kills Inbound ICBM In Landmark Test.
As I mentioned yesterday, this test was tremendously important for several reasons:
* It was the first flight test of the GBI since Sept. 2007.
* GBI’s are the interceptors we plan to install in Poland. The US-based GBI tested today is a 3-stage interceptor, while the European-based GBI will be a simpler 2-stage version (basically just the upper 2 stages of today’s GBI).
* President-elect Obama has repeatedly said he would only support deploying “proven” missile defense technology to Europe. Okie-freakin-dokie.
After years of testing, the Active Denial System — the pain ray which drives off rioters with a microwave-like beam — could finally have its day. The Army is buying five of the truck-mounted systems for $25 million. But the energy weapon may face new hurdles, before it’s shipped off to the battlefield; a new report details how the supposedly non-lethal blaster could be turned into a flesh-frying killer.