F-16 Intercepts Ballistic Missile for First Time

[Matt Molnar]

Associated Press:

US jet intercepts ballistic missile for first time: officials
Dec 4 07:35 PM US/Eastern

A US F-16 fighter used an air-to-air missile to destroy a sounding rocket in its boost phase for the first time this week in a test of a new missile defense concept, US spokesmen said Tuesday.

The system -- named the Net-Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCDE) -- breaks new ground in that it would arm fighter aircraft or drones with missiles fast enough to intercept a ballistic missile as it lifts into space.

The aircraft would have to get to within a 100 miles of the launch site to catch the ascending missile in the first two to three minutes after launch. Read More...

[cancidas]

i read about this in a tom clancy book a few years back. then again, i also read about the USAF having the capabilities to shoot down satellites too.