The defense ministry had objected to these projects due to their proximity to naval bases, missile-firing ranges and other defense locations.

WSJ: India Clears Projects Worth Several Billion Dollars

By tracing the trajectory of the Palestinian missile within the first few seconds of its flight, the system could calculate whether or not it was heading for a populated area and therefore whether the firing of a defensive interceptor missile was necessary.

BBC: How did Iron Dome perform over course of Gaza clash?

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told a parliamentary committee in Seoul that the North has moved a medium-range missile to its East coast for an imminent test firing or military drill, according to the semi-official South Korean news agency Yonhap.

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In 1989, a U.S. fighter jet destroyed a U.S. satellite by firing a modified air-to-air missile into space from an altitude of 80, 000 feet.

CNN: Navy missile hits dying spy satellite, says Pentagon

The most determined effort to develop a small, cheap guided weapon, though, is the Forward Firing Miniature Munition (F2M2, or Spike missile), from the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California.

ECONOMIST: Cheap smart weapons

In the past week, Pakistan has test-fired two ballistic missiles and India responded by test-firing a new short-range air-defence missile.

ECONOMIST: After the vote

Analysts caution that it is possible North Korea is simply using the existence of the missile to feed concerns about the isolated state's provocative behavior and won't proceed with a test firing.

WSJ: Seoul Raises Alert Ahead of Expected Test