Japan Aegis destroyer conducts first successful anti-missile test by any nation other than U.S.
Japan conducted its first test of a new anti-missile interceptor near Hawaii on Dec. 18.
h
A Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is launched from the Japanese AEGIS Destroyer JS Kongo enroute to an intercept of a target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii on Dec. 17.
Reuters/U.S. Navy Photo
It was the first test of the Standard Missile-3 by a nation other than the United States. It illustrates the close cooperation between Washington and Tokyo in using the new system, which Japan is hoping to use to counter North Korean and Chinese missile threats.
A ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. Kongo crew members detected and tracked the target. Three minutes later, a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IA was launched from the Japanese warship Kongo.
Also In This Edition
The SM-3 successfully intercepted the target approximately about 3 minutes later and 100 miles in the atmosphere.
Rear Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and Lt. General Henry "Trey" Obering III, director of the United Stated Missile Defense Agency, jointly announced the successful test.
The event marked the first time a Navy ship successfully intercepted a ballistic missile target using the sea-based capability provided by Aegis BMD. The SM-3 is part of the Navy’s new anti-ballistic missile system that was developed with support from Japan, including funding for altering the size of the missile so it would fit missile tubes on Japanese warships.
The test confirmed the capability of the Aegis BMD configuration of the recently upgraded Japanese Kongo destroyer.
