After a successful Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system intercept on May 30, the Pentagon has reportedly upgraded its assessment of the United States’ ability to defend the United States against ICBMs, according to a June 6 memo. Prior DOD assessments had characterized GMD as providing a “limited” defense capability, but the Pentagon now assesses that it has a “demonstrated capability to defend the U.S. homeland from a small number of intermediate-range or intercontinental missile threats with simple countermeasures,” according the memo obtained by Reuters. The update changes language that the Department of Operational Test and Evaluation has used to describe GMD since 2012.