After a two-year gap, a missile-defense test is planned for Monday morning at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency test will take place between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m., and involve a ground-based interceptor flying from an underground silo on North Base.
“At Vandenberg, the U.S. Space Force‘s largest spaceport and test range, the MDA mission is not just a mission, but our mission,” said Col. Bryan Titus, Space Launch Delta 30 vice commander and the launch decision authority for the test.
“Our dedicated Guardians and Airmen take pride in supporting these crucial national security missions, and it is an honor for us to contribute to the safeguarding of our nation’s security,” Titus added.
Monday’s mission will include an attempt to incept a missile.
The test will involve an air-launched, threat-representative intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM)-class target and a ground-based interceptor launched from Vandenberg, according to Heather Reed Cavaliere from the Missile Defense Agency.
Monday’s test is part of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense element designed to protect against limited, long-range missile attacks from rogue nations.
The GMD system includes interceptors sitting on alert at Vandenberg and in Alaska.
Rockets carrying satellites typically steal the spotlight among Vandenberg launches, but the base also conducts a number of missile tests annually including Minuteman III weapons designed as nuclear deterrence.
For several years, Vandenberg also has hosted a number of tests for the development and evolution of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system to protect the United States from a missile attack.
“Testing is a critical aspect of Missile Defense Agency’s mission. Validating system performance through flight and ground test is paramount to building warfighter confidence in our system,” Michelle Atkinson, director for operations for the Missile Defense Agency, said during a budget briefing in March.
The test will occur days after the confirmation of the Missile Defense Agency’s 12th leader, Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath A. Collins.
Collins most recently served as program executive for ground-based weapon systems including the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense for the Missile Defense Agency.
Prior assignments in his career included stints at Los Angeles Air Force Base plus Schriever AFB, Colorado, and the National Reconnaissance Office in Virginia.