Score a pair of holes-in-one for the 100th Missile Defense Brigade in Colorado Springs, which hit an intercontinental ballistic missile target with a pair of interceptors last week in the fullest test of its system to date.

The 100th Brigade, a Colorado National Guard outfit with subordinate units in California and Alaska, controls the nation’s fleet of ground-based interceptors designed to swat down incoming nuclear-tipped missiles at the edge of space. The Monday test was the first time they had fired a salvo of two interceptors at a target, possibly showing off a capability to take out multiple warheads from a single ICBM.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, who heads the Missile Defense Agency, called the test “a critical milestone” that proves the U.S. can defend itself from a strike by nations such as North Korea and Iran.

“The system worked exactly as it was designed to do, and the results of this test provide evidence of the practicable use of the salvo doctrine within missile defense,” Greaves said in a statement.

The missile shield was put in operation during the Bush administration and has faced piles of criticism that the interceptors were unreliable.

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Leaders with the 100th Brigade admit targeting an enemy missile isn’t easy, comparing it to “hitting a bullet with a bullet.” Earlier tests had used a single interceptor against a single target. This time, a pair of interceptors were fired one after the other in a method called “shoot, shoot, look.”

“The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat,” Greaves said.

The test success was vital for the brigade, which controls the missiles from Schriever Air Force Base, amid a push for $1.2 billion from Congress next year to expand the number of interceptors deployed in Alaska and to build communications infrastructure to support them.

The 100th is in the process of adding 20 interceptor missiles and their silos to Fort Greely, Alaska, bringing the total there to 64.

The test last week used a simulated ICBM launched from a Pacific atoll that was shot down by interceptors fired from silos at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

But Colorado played the biggest role in the launch. In addition to the crews from the 100th, the test involved troops from the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base and the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base.

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The Trump administration issued a missile defense review paper in January that envisions a missile shield reminiscent of the Reagan-era “Star Wars” plan.

The Brookings Institute think tank said the report could aim the U.S. toward space-based missile defense.

“It appears that the Trump administration is inclined to begin research and development of a space-based interceptor capability,” Brookings said.

That would be a big deal in Colorado Springs, which is, at least for now, home to the reinvented U.S. Space Command and the bulk of the military’s satellite troops.

Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240 Twitter: @xroederx