A long-range Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on 12 September. This was the first flight test of a GBI three-stage booster operating in two-stage mode. (Missile Defense Agency)

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in association with Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, on 12 September conducted a test launch of a Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), flying a mock-up of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), with a three-stage booster operating in a two-stage mode.

The milestone test – in which the third stage was not ignited – demonstrates a new capability for the GBI, allowing it to release the EKV earlier in flight and, accordingly, enable an earlier opportunity to intercept and defeat a missile threat. The MDA designates this new capability as “a 2-/3-Stage selectable GBI”.

A long-range Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on 12 September. This was the first flight test of a GBI three-stage booster operating in two-stage mode. (Missile Defense Agency)

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in association with Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, on 12 September conducted a test launch of a Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), flying a mock-up of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), with a three-stage booster operating in a two-stage mode.

The milestone test – in which the third stage was not ignited – demonstrates a new capability for the GBI, allowing it to release the EKV earlier in flight and, accordingly, enable an earlier opportunity to intercept and defeat a missile threat. The MDA designates this new capability as “a 2-/3-Stage selectable GBI”.

A long-range Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on 12 September. This was the first flight test of a GBI three-stage booster operating in two-stage mode. (Missile Defense Agency)

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in association with Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, on 12 September conducted a test launch of a Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), flying a mock-up of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), with a three-stage booster operating in a two-stage mode.

The milestone test – in which the third stage was not ignited – demonstrates a new capability for the GBI, allowing it to release the EKV earlier in flight and, accordingly, enable an earlier opportunity to intercept and defeat a missile threat. The MDA designates this new capability as “a 2-/3-Stage selectable GBI”.

A long-range Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on 12 September. This was the first flight test of a GBI three-stage booster operating in two-stage mode. (Missile Defense Agency)

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in association with Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, on 12 September conducted a test launch of a Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), flying a mock-up of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), with a three-stage booster operating in a two-stage mode.

The milestone test – in which the third stage was not ignited – demonstrates a new capability for the GBI, allowing it to release the EKV earlier in flight and, accordingly, enable an earlier opportunity to intercept and defeat a missile threat. The MDA designates this new capability as “a 2-/3-Stage selectable GBI”.

A long-range Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on 12 September. This was the first flight test of a GBI three-stage booster operating in two-stage mode. (Missile Defense Agency)

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in association with Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, on 12 September conducted a test launch of a Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), flying a mock-up of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), with a three-stage booster operating in a two-stage mode.

The milestone test – in which the third stage was not ignited – demonstrates a new capability for the GBI, allowing it to release the EKV earlier in flight and, accordingly, enable an earlier opportunity to intercept and defeat a missile threat. The MDA designates this new capability as “a 2-/3-Stage selectable GBI”.

A long-range Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on 12 September. This was the first flight test of a GBI three-stage booster operating in two-stage mode. (Missile Defense Agency)

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in association with Boeing and Raytheon Technologies, on 12 September conducted a test launch of a Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), flying a mock-up of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), with a three-stage booster operating in a two-stage mode.

The milestone test – in which the third stage was not ignited – demonstrates a new capability for the GBI, allowing it to release the EKV earlier in flight and, accordingly, enable an earlier opportunity to intercept and defeat a missile threat. The MDA designates this new capability as “a 2-/3-Stage selectable GBI”.