US has destroyed an inter-continental ballistic missile in space

The US Missile Defense Agency and the US Navy have successfully shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile in space for the first time in history.

The intercontinental ballistic missile target was intercepted and destroyed outside Earth's atmosphere by an advanced SM-3 Block IIA ballistic missile defense interceptor made by Raytheon Missiles & Defense

The Missile Defense Agency announced that the ICBM target missile launched from a test range in the Marshall Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and the Philippines around 12:50 am local time, and was shot down in space by a missile launched from a U.S. warship at sea.

The SM-3 family of ballistic missile defense interceptors has executed more exo-atmospheric intercepts than all other missiles combined and is the only weapon of its kind employed from both ships and land. The sensors detected and tracked the target and relayed the data to decision makers in a demonstration of space-based early warning.

Bryan Rosselli, vice president of Strategic Missile Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, said: "This first-of-its-kind test shows that our nation has a viable option for a new layer of defense against long-range threats."