SM-3 Interceptor Misses the Mark In Complex Missile Defense Test

摘要

A Raytheon-built Standard Missile 3 Block 1B interceptor failed to hit a medium-range ballistic missile Oct. 31 in a complex U.S. Missile Defense Agency test involving multiple targets. The test, announced by the agency after the fact Nov. 1, called for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems to take on two ballistic missile targets while the former simultaneously conducted an "anti-air warfare operation." The Aegis system uses the SM-3 as its ballistic missile interceptor. It was the first test failure involving an SM-3 variant since October 2012, breaking a string of six straight successes. The SM-3 Block 1B, an upgraded version of the Block 1A, was declared operational last year and had carried out three consecutive successful intercepts. In its press release, the MDA said the Oct. 31 events were part of a "complex" demonstration of a "layered defense architecture."