The first test of the LTV-Boeing ASM-135A air-launched anti-satellite weapon against a target is successfully carried out over the Western Test Range, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Launched from an F-15, the missile destroys a satellite orbiting at a speed of 17,500 mph approximately 290 miles above Earth.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
