US intercepts test ballistic missile over Pacific

Washington, Sep 2: The US military today shot down a target ballistic missile over the Pacific in the widest test of its emerging antimissile shield in 18 months, a witness to the test told Reuters.

''We've got an intercept,'' said Riki Ellision, president of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a booster group close to missile-defense contractors and the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Cheryl Irwin, said she would report the results of the million test shortly. Officially, the test was designed to collet data rather than shoot down the target.

Boeing Co is prime contractor for the ground-based mid-course defense. Major subcontractors include Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Raytheon Co.

Reuters