1.   As for Clinton, his interest in intercepting incoming missiles has grown dramatically since Dole unveiled his plan.

2.   Biden said an Aegis sea-based system with missiles based off the North Korean coast would let the United States intercept the missiles in their ascents.

3.   He said the most promising technology may be in intercepting missiles in the launch phase, when the missile is at its slowest speed.

4.   Ideally, American missile defenses would intercept enemy missiles armed with weapons of mass destruction.

5.   If Lockheed succeeds in its next tests and actually intercepts a missile for the first time, the firm will move into the next phase of engineering and manufacturing.

6.   It uses satellites to detect enemy rockets and to intercept missiles and destroy them before they reach their targets, officials of both governments said.

7.   Other experts would recommend a defense that intercepted missiles just after launching, rather than in space.

8.   Over the past three years, U.S. tests of systems to spot and intercept incoming missiles have been plagued by failures.

9.   The defense system is not aimed at intercepting Soviet missiles, as it was during the presidencies of Reagan and the elder Bush.

10.   The other options rely on improvements to a Navy system that is under development to protect troops in a battlefield theater, by intercepting missiles above the atmosphere.