The U.S. military has successfully destroyed a target missile over the Pacific Ocean, using an interceptor fired from a U.S. Navy ship.

Military officials said the (guided missile cruiser) USS Lake Erie tracked the (Aries) short-range missile carrying a dummy warhead that was launched from the U.S. Pacific Missile Range Facility in (Kauai) Hawaii.

The ship then fired its interceptor rocket. Minutes later, the two missiles collided in space more than 500 kilometers northwest of Hawaii. It was the first test of a sea-based, anti-missile defense system that the Pentagon is developing as part of the planned shield against ballistic missiles.

The test was delayed for several hours late Friday to allow a medical ship to pass through the launch area.

U.S. officials said the test was in keeping with the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty because the target was a short-range missile.

The ABM treaty, signed in 1972 by the United States and what was then Soviet Union, bans the testing and construction of defense systems designed to destroy incoming long-range missiles.

Last month, the Bush administration notified Russia that the United States plans to pull out of the ABM Treaty in six months to pursue the development of missile defenses. The Pentagon promised in the meantime not to violate the accord.

More TruthNews