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“Large doses of autonomy and artificial intelligence are needed to achieve an effective, near-instant, response. The goal is boost phase or early ascent phase intercept. Destroying an enemy missile over enemy territory, especially if it is armed with a weapon of mass destruction, is a very good thing.”

Indeed, an ICBM's trajectory has three different phases: boost phase, midcourse phase, and terminal phase, all of which typically occur in less than an hour from launch to strike.

Wells added there is a concern that intercepting during the boost phase could detonate the warhead in a friendly territory.

The test objectives include “assessing the upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls during the boost phase of the flight,” the company said in a statement.

"The Russian triad is more complex and varied than its U.S. counterpart. While all U.S. ground-based missiles are currently in silos, and therefore easy targets, Russian ground-based missiles, such as Topol-M and Yars are mobile, and therefore a lot harder to take out in the initial boost phase of flight."