63 items, Page 5 of 7
December 11, 2017
For the next two days, the United States, Japan, and South Korea will conduct a joint missile tracking exercise in the Sea of Japan. The exercise will include Aegis-equipped destroyers conducting computer-simulated training for submarine missile launches by North Korea, according to South Korean military officials. The drill comes as experts speculate that North Korea...
November 6, 2017
On October 24, the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) successfully conducted a live-fire missile exercise using the updated Aegis Baseline 9 weapons system. During the missile exercise, USS Mobile Bay fired two Standard Missile-2s and one Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) at airborne training targets. Mass Communication SPC2 Lenny LaCrosse explains the significance...
October 24, 2017
On October 24, the United States, South Korea (ROK), and Japan began a joint missile early warning exercise. Although no missiles will be fired, the two-day joint exercise has mobilized four Aegis Combat System-equipped ships to practice detecting and tracking computer-simulated North Korean ballistic missiles. The USS Stethem (DDG 63) and the USS Milius (DDG...
October 4, 2017
On October 3, Secretary of Defense James Mattis disclosed the approval of Congressional defense committees to reprogram $416 million from other accounts, including unspent Army maintenance and operations funding, into several missile defense programs. The reallocation would shift $47 million into the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program for 10 to 20 new missile silos for a...
October 3, 2017
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced Tuesday that nine of Australia’s new planned frigates, scheduled to enter construction in 2020, will be fitted with the Aegis combat system, which will allow them to perform both air and missile defense missions. In announcing the decision, Turnbull emphasized that “Recent events in our region have proven that...
August 31, 2017
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...
August 18, 2017
On August 17, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and Foreign Minister Taro Kono met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss the possible acquisition of an Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system. Following a succession of North Korean missile tests, the Japanese Defense Ministry has accelerated its...
July 25, 2017
On July 24, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) indicated that sailor error was responsible for a failed SM-3 Block IIA missile intercept test. According to Defense News, a tactical datalink controller, responsible for maintaining communications between the missile and the Navy’s Aegis ship combat system, incorrectly identified the incoming ballistic missile target as friendly, consequentially...
June 22, 2017
On June 21, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Japan Ministry of Defense conducted a development intercept test of a new Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile, an interceptor designed to operate as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system. The missile failed to intercept the medium-range ballistic target missile. The reason...
June 22, 2017
The Missile Defense Agency yesterday conducted an intercept test of the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA (SM-3 IIA), a relatively new interceptor designed for use in the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) program. Something appears to have gone wrong, however, and the interceptor did not destroy its target. The type or cause of failure is not yet known, nor will it likely be known for some time.