The Missile Defense Agency has fired two SM-6 Dual I missiles aboard an Aegis baseline 9.C1-equipped destroyer to engage a medium-range ballistic missile target.
MDA said Wednesday the salvo of two SM-6 missiles launched from the USS John Paul Jones off the coast of Hawaii in an effort to validate the system’s Sea-Based Terminal endo-atmospheric defensive capacity.
Navy Vice Adm. Jim Syring, MDA director, said the test worked to demonstrate SM-6 and the Aegis Weapon System as “critical components” of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system.
SM-6 is designed to use an explosive warhead to destroy ballistic missile threats.
Program officials will continue to assess system performance based on telemetry and test data, MDA noted.
The U.S. Navy and MDA co-manage the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System program.
