Successful missile defense test

Yesterday the Navy conducted a successful at sea missile defense test. Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System intercepted and destroyed a separating ballistic missile target during its midcourse phase of flight. (via Peace and Freedom)

In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) is launched from the Aegis destroyer USS Decatur, during a Missile Defense Agency ballistic missile flight test Friday, June 22, 2007. Two minutes later, the SM-3 intercepted a separating ballistic missile threat target, launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. The test was the ninth intercept, in eleven program flight tests, by the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, the maritime component of the ‘Hit-to-Kill’ Ballistic Missile Defense System, being developed by the Missile Defense Agency. It was the first time such a test was conducted from a ballistic missile defense equipped-U.S. Navy destroyer. The previous flight tests were conducted from U.S. Navy cruisers. The maritime capability is designed to intercept short to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in the midcourse phase of flight. USS Decatur is one of 18 U.S. Navy ships (three cruisers and 15 destroyers) that will be identically equipped, by early 2009, with the ballistic missile defense capabilities of conducting long range surveillance/tracking and launching the SM-3 missile. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy) [snip]

The Aegis Weapon System is currently deployed on 83 ships around the globe with more than 20 additional ships planned or under contract. In addition to the U.S., Aegis is the maritime weapon system of choice for Japan, South Korea, Norway, Spain and Australia. Japan began installation of Aegis BMD in its Kongo-class Aegis destroyers in 2007. (read more)

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Comments

[michael]

This is good news.

Now these types of systems need to be deployed around Iran, and the Iranians need to be challenged, directly.

They showed 20 years ago that they back down from such a challenge. It's too bad W. doesn't know any history....