VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Jan. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Riki Ellison, Chairman and Founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org, viewed the Ground-Based Interceptor test from the Ronald Reagan Missile Defense Site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California. Ellison is one of the top lay experts in missile defense in the world. His comments and observations are below:
"Under the Californian sun at 2:00PM PST, as the fog bank lifts on the side of the lowland hill alongside the Pacific Ocean, our nation's Ground-Based Interceptor launched from launch field 23 at Vandenberg Air Force Base."
"This launch of our Ground-Based Interceptor demonstrates the latest version of an enhanced kill vehicle that is the product of three years of study, development, and modernization from our nation's brightest engineers."
"The interceptor in this launch is testing and pushing the absolute parameters of these new enhancements and the divert ability of the system in the rigors of the space environment. This return to flight now leads our country to move forward in the next steps to enable all of our 30 current U.S. Homeland defense interceptors to be more capable in defending our nation and people against ballistic missile threats from North Korea and Iran."
Ellison closed his comments with: "This a significant message to North Korea and Iran of peace through strength and a reliable capability to nullify any and all North Korean long range ballistic missiles targeting the United States of America."
SOURCE MDAA
