shootdown - What does it mean?

Noun

(en-noun)

The shooting down of an aircraft, satellite, etc.

*{{quote-news|year=2008|date=February 22|author=Thom Shanker|title=An Errant Satellite Is Gone, but Questions Linger|work=New York Times citation

|passage=Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who personally gave the order to go ahead with the satellite shootdown Wednesday, told reporters in Hawaii on Thursday that he was prepared to share some details of the operation with China to ease its concerns that the debris might still prove dangerous. }}