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A test of a new defensive missile suggested for the future protection of Hawaii against North Korean attack failed to intercept a target Wednesday night off Kauai, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said.
The SM-3 Block IIA missile is being developed cooperatively by the U.S. and Japan to defeat medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, but also may be able to defend Hawaii.
The developmental interceptor is not yet fielded by either country.
At approximately 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, a medium-range ballistic target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The Pearl Harbor-based destroyer USS John Paul Jones, used as a test bed for missile defense, detected and tracked the target missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system, MDA said.
After acquiring and tracking the target, the ship launched an SM-3 Block IIA guided missile, but the missile did not intercept the target, the agency said…
