Defense News:
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency continued a hot streak Tuesday with a successful shoot-down of an intermediate range ballistic missile target in space from its Hawaii-based AEGIS Ashore facility.
The test marked the second consecutive successful intercept for the SM-3 Block IIA missile in development. The intercept followed an October success, which shook off two hard-luck consecutive failures – one caused by a sailor error and a second caused by a misfired third-stage rocket motor. Both tests were on course for a successful intercept when the respective mishaps occurred, officials tell Defense News.
The missile, which was launched from Hawaii, fired on a track from a sensor that was a significant distance from the AEGIS Ashore Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex at the Pacific Missile Rang Facility at Kauai, said Mark Wright, spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency.
