The United States has deployed its naval-based ballistic missile defense system in wake of a successful test of the Aegis emergency response capability. | In other words, it's ready for prime time! |
The Aegis, which contains the Standard Missile-3 interceptor, destroyed a ballistic missile outside the earth's atmosphere during a flight test over the Pacific Ocean last week. Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said the SM-3 interceptor would continue to expand its presence in 2005.
The Feb. 24 mission — the fifth successful intercept for the SM-3 — marked the first full demonstration of the Aegis BMD emergency deployment capability. The test, which employed an operational version of the SM-3 Block I missile and Aegis BMD weapon system, also demonstrated the SM-3's third stage rocket motor single-pulse mode. Officials said Aegis would be installed on 18 additional U.S. Navy destroyers.
Raytheon has designed the SM-3 interceptor to include a third-stage rocket motor, with two pulses that could be ignited independently and expand the area of ballistic missile engagement. Lockheed Martin has developed the Aegis BMD weapon system.
"This successful flight test demonstrates the tactical, operational capability of SM-3 and the Aegis BMD weapon system in real-world conditions," Raytheon Missile Systems vice president Edward Miyashiro said. "Aegis ballistic missile defense is for real."
The Aegis weapon system, the primary component of the sea-based element of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System, integrates the SPY-1 radar, the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System and the SM-3 missile with its own command and control system. Aegis capabilities have been installed on 68 U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers on station around the world. In 2003, the United States deployed an Aegis BMD cruiser in the eastern Mediterranean to help protect Israel on the eve of the war in Iraq. The Aegis has been selected by Australia, Japan, Korea, Norway and Spain. |
