Pentagon: Missile defense test succeeds in shootdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says it has successfully tested a missile defense system designed to shoot down a North Korean missile aimed at the U.S.

Officials say two interceptor missiles were launched out of underground silos in California on Monday.

The first interceptor hit its target — an unarmed re-entry vehicle — as it soared through space. The re-entry vehicle was launched atop a long-range missile fired from 4,000 miles away at a U.S. test range in the Pacific.

The second interceptor struck a secondary target, as planned.

It was the first so-called salvo test in which more than one interceptor was launched at a target.

The Pentagon is putting additional billions of dollars into expanding its arsenal of missile interceptors, which are based mainly at Fort Greely in Alaska.