China’s military conducted a space-based missile defense interceptor test, claiming to have successfully targeted a ballistic missile in space, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Sunday.
The test involved hitting a target missile with a high-speed interceptor missile in space, the ministry said in a statement.
“The test reached its expected goals,” the statement said, adding that the test was defensive and not aimed at any country.
It was the sixth missile defense test by the Chinese and highlights Beijing’s efforts to develop missile defenses despite frequent state denunciations of U.S. missile defense systems as destabilizing.
Few details were provided on the test that involved firing a land-based missile at a target ballistic missile.