Kinetic Energy Technology Gains Speed the SDI Timetable
The Strategic Defense Inititive Organization or, as it is widely known, SDIO, conducted two successful "technology validation experiments" in 1986. The Flexible Lightweight Agile-Guided Experiment (FLAGE), demonstrated the feasibility of tracking and destroying missiles at low altitudes as they approach U.S. military or civilian targets. In one FLAGE test, a ground-based interceptor destroyed a simulated nuclear warhead traveling at over 3,000 miles per hour. Another test, called Delta 180, demonstrated the ability of KEW technology to track and destroy a missile warhead in space wit...
Source: heritage.org