"[The MDA] and US Navy sailors aboard USS John Finn (DDG-113) successfully conducted an intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target with a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile during a flight test off the west coast of Hawaii," the release said.
The MDA explained that a target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii, and the John Finn detected and tracked it with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system.
"Upon acquiring and tracking the target, the ship launched an SM-3 Block IIA guided missile which intercepted the target," the release said.
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MDA Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves characterized the intercept as a "superb accomplishment and key milestone" for the SM-3 Block IIA.
The SM-3 Block IIA is being developed cooperatively by the US and Japan and operates as part of the AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense system, the naval component of the US Ballistic Missile Defense System, according to the release.