Amid growing tensions in the region and unrelenting missile tests by North Korea, the Pentagon is rolling out a new anti-missile detection system in a series of upcoming tests.

The Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency will unveil and test it's upgraded missile defense system at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday. The tests aim is to see whether ground-based systems can detect and destroy intermediate and long-range ballistic rockets fired over the Pacific at the Continental United States. It's no easy feat and is frequently described by experts as "trying to shoot a bullet with another bullet."

The American test comes just two days after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile that traveled an estimated 280 miles, splashing down somewhere within Japanese territorial waters. The test predictably sent waves through the international community, as North Korea continues to rattle its sabres by going forward with it's nuclear and rocketry programs.

The Pentagon insists the test of its surface-based interceptor system is not solely about a nuclear armed North Korea, the test's primary goal is at being able to challenge any threatening intercontinental ballistic missile attempting to enter North American airspace. The advanced Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system or THAAD has also been installed in South Korea to intercept any attacks launched over the Korean Demilitiarized Zone.

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