UCS Backgrounder - Missile Defense Test FTG-05
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has scheduled an intercept test for the Ground-Based Midcourse missile defense system for tomorrow, Friday, December 5, between noon and 4 pm California time (3 pm to 7 pm EST). If it is delayed, the window continues through December 8. The test is labeled FTG-05.
Successful or not, this test will not prove that the missile defense system can counter real-world decoys. It appears that the defense system will attempt to rely on the kill vehicle's sensor to distinguish the mock warhead from the decoys. This method of "discrimination," however, requires the defense system to know what the various objects look like in advance, which would not be the case in an actual attack. Moreover, anyone launching an attack could easily change the various objects' appearance prior to the attack to fool the defense.
In other words, the discrimination capability MDA plans to test tomorrow would not be useful in an actual attack, since it can be easily countered by an attacker.
