“Our ability to defeat maneuvering, hypersonic missiles is critical if we are to defend our homeland and our forces against an increasingly dangerous threat.”
“The Aegis Weapon System will play a vital role in the next-generation integrated air and missile defense system, and today’s test demonstrated key achievements as we continue to partner with the Navy in advancing the Nation’s counter -hypersonic and missile defense capabilities.”
Lt General Heath Collins, March 25, 2025
Earlier this week, the Missile Defense Agency executed Flight Test 40 (FTX-40) off the coast of Kauai Hawaii with the USS Pinckney (DDG-91). The ship and its crew demonstrated the ability to detect, track and perform a simulated engagement of an advanced maneuvering hypersonic target using Sea Based Terminal (SBT) increment 3 capability embedded in the latest Aegis software baseline. LINK TO MDA PRESS RELEASE.
This test demonstrates a large jump in capability, showcasing the SBT function of Aegis warships, which include their ability to engage a ballistic threat in its terminal phase using a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6). This test proves that SBT not only works against complex ballistic missiles, which has been shown since FTM-27 in 2016, but also against their more-maneuverable, glide-phase-capable hypersonic counterparts. Alongside this, the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) is a missile used to engage ballistic threats in the midcourse phase, while they are still in space.
Most importantly, the SBT-Inc 3 continues to remain on track from the 2020 capability evolution roadmap. It remains a priority for both MDA and the U.S. Navy from a resourcing, engineering, and program execution perspective. As it stands now and in the foreseeable future, the Aegis weapon system is the only capability that has successfully demonstrated simultaneous ballistic and cruise missile defense. With this successful test, add hypersonic threats to the Aegis portfolio.
SBT Increment 3 is the Navy’s newest Aegis BMD capability, and FTX-40 is the second test of this capability, after FTM-32 last year. The SBT capability Increment 1 was first tested in December of 2016 against a complex Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM). Since then, MDA has completed flight tests that incrementally improve upon either the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles with SM-6, track them with various sensors, or both. Though the engagement was simulated, FTX-40 is the first flight test to demonstrate the SBT’s capability to detect, track, and intercept an advanced maneuvering hypersonic target.
There are key advantages to the SBT functionality of Aegis.
1. the range of an SM-6 is far less than an SM-3, so by using SBT the missile intercept is much closer to the defended asset than if an SM-3 is used. Complex maneuvering has been observed in advanced ballistic and hypersonic missiles, as seen in FTX-40. The SBT capability provides an important proven terminal base capability.
2. If the threat never enters the exo-atmosphere, SM-3s may never have the ability to intercept in the first place, leaving SBT as the only option. The final benefit of the SM-6 is that they are almost a third of the cost of the cheapest SM-3s.
3. There is a drawback to SBT: SM-6’s are used for many different purposes, while the SM-3 is only used in ballistic missile defense. Using SM-6s for hypersonic or ballistic missile defense will prevent their use against other targets. This enforces the requirement for more capacity and the requirement to improve and develop other counter-targeting and hypersonic intercept capabilities.
The upcoming Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI), will be an Aegis-carried weapon specially made to defend against hypersonic missiles while in their glide phase. GPI’s delivery timeframe of 2034 makes Aegis’ current ability to use SM-6 against hypersonic missiles an essential function to deter and defeat these advanced threats.
The US Navy’s Aegis’ program’s proven effectiveness against hypersonic missiles in FTX-40 will add to the discussion of its role in America’s future Golden Dome in the defense of the United States Homeland.
Congratulations to Paul Mann and his team at MDA and to the Sailors of the USS Pinckney.
Bravo Zulu
