By Franz-Stefan Gady
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) together with U.S. Navy successfully conducted an intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target alongside a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile on Oct 26, according to a MDA statement. The exam involved the shooting downward of a mock ballistic missile target exterior the earth’s atmosphere, fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, at Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii, alongside a SM-3 Block IIA missile launched from the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG-113).
“Based on observations together with initial information review, the exam met its objectives,” the MDA said inwards an Oct 26 statement. “Program officials volition expire along to evaluate organisation performance.”
“This was a superb accomplishment together with telephone substitution milestone for the SM-3 Block IIA supply to flight,” said MDA Director Lieutenant General Sam Greaves. “My congratulations to the entire team, including our sailors, manufacture partners, together with allies who helped attain this milestone.”
The SM-3 Block IIA missile is the close advanced variant of the SM-3 “hit-to-kill” interceptor serial together with operates every bit business office of the Aegis ballistic missile defense forcefulness system. The SM-3 Block IIA has been nether articulation evolution past times U.S. defense forcefulness contractor Raytheon together with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) since 2006.
Whereas Raytheon is responsible for the SM-3 Block IIA’s hardware, organisation development, together with all-up-round integration, MHI oversees the evolution of the interceptor missile’s second- together with third-stage rocket motors, steering control, together with the missile nosecone.
The U.S. of A. of America together with Nihon concluding successfully tested the Aegis Baseline 9/5.1 BMD scrap organisation alongside a SM-3 Block IIA missile inwards Feb 2017. Two other tests of the missile inwards June 2017 together with January 2018 failed.
The SM-3 Block IIA is designed to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Possessing a much greater horizontal together with vertical gain than its predecessors, the SM-3 Block IA together with SM-3 Block IB, the SM-3 IIA missile is idea to accept a maximum operational gain of 2,500 km (1,350 miles). It every bit good carries a much to a greater extent than advanced kill vehicle than previous SM interceptor variants.
The missile tin locomote deployed on Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyers or on land, via Aegis Ashore sites.
In January, the U.S. State Department approved a potential sale of SM-3 Block IIA missiles to Nihon for an estimated toll of $133.3 million. The kickoff SM-3 Block IIA missiles are slated for operational deployment past times the halt of 2018.
Last month, the Nihon Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) together with MDA, inwards cooperation alongside the U.S. Navy, also conducted a successful exam of the Aegis Baseline 9/BMD 5.0 scrap organisation that involved the exam firing of a SM-3 Block IB interceptor missile launched from a Japanese guided-missile destroyer.
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