Lieutenant General Henry "Trey" Obering, Missile Defense Agency (MDA) director, has announced the successful completion of an exercise involving Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) elements while participating in a routine operational test of a U.S. Air Force strategic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. as a "target of opportunity," conducted on August 13, 2008.

Elements of the BMDS, including the Sea Based X-Band Radar, the Space-Based Infrared System Mission Control Station, and the Beale Air Force Base Upgraded Early Warning Radar, successfully detected and tracked the long-range missile.

Operational sensors provided acquisition and track data to the BMDS Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system using operational communications links.

Data collected by the BMDS elements will be used for extensive post-mission analysis to further characterize BMDS capabilities.

The Air Force test, called Glory Trip 194, was part of a continuing program to evaluate and demonstrate the operational readiness of our ground-based strategic deterrent force.

The ability to utilize a target of opportunity allows MDA to conduct numerous important exercises and obtain extensive data without incurring the expense associated with launching a test-specific target missile.