“The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said it conducted a successful test of the ground-based U.S. missile defense system managed by Boeing Co aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of a redesigned “kill vehicle” or warhead built by Raytheon Co,” Reuters reports.  

“The test purposely did not include an intercept by a ground-based interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, but was designed to observe the in-flight performance of the redesigned components and collect data on countermeasures carried by the target, according to statements by the agency and the companies involved.”