On August 29, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Navy conducted a successful Aegis BMD test with the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) guided missile. Aegis BMD detected, tracked, and intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) target in its terminal phase.
The Missile Defense Agency released the following statement regarding the test:
Aegis BMD System Intercepts Target Missile
17-NEWS-0009
Aug. 29, 2017
The Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a complex missile defense flight test, resulting in the intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) target using Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) guided missiles during a test off the coast of Hawaii today.
John Paul Jones detected and tracked a target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar, and onboard SM-6 missiles executed the intercept.
“We are working closely with the fleet to develop this important new capability, and this was a key milestone in giving our Aegis BMD ships an enhanced capability to defeat ballistic missiles in their terminal phase,” said MDA Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves. “We will continue developing ballistic missile defense technologies to stay ahead of the threat as it evolves.”
This test, designated Flight Test Standard Missile-27 Event 2 (FTM-27 E2), marks the second time that an SM-6 missile has successfully intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile target.