VIDEO: U.S. Carries Out ‘Successful’ Test of THAAD Anti-Missile System in Alaska

The U.S. military carried out a “successful” test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) anti-missile system off the coast of Alaska Sunday, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

The THAAD test came just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with the capability of hitting American soil, the Daily Mail reported.

Even though the test seemed to be a reaction to North Korea’s test, the THAAD test had been months in the making.

The video shows the interceptor missile launching from Kodiak, Alaska, before colliding with its target missile dropped over the Pacific Ocean by a U.S. Air Force C-17 plane.

THAAD is designed to destroy ballistic missiles about to reach their final destination using kinetic energy.

The system, however, is only designed to destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range missiles, meaning it would not be able to destroy the much faster type of missile North Korea launched recently.

The MDA told CBS News that Sunday’s test was the 15th successful THAAD test that collected “threat data” from a target.

The data would enable the Missile Defense Agency “to stay ahead of the evolving threat,” MDA Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves said.