In partnership with the Missile Defense Agency, a U.S. Navy destroyer USS John Paul Jones successfully engaged ballistic and cruise missile targets simultaneously with a Raytheon-made Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-2s in a complex integrated air and missile defense exercise.
Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, president of Raytheon Missile Systems, said:
This test showcases the U.S.’s ability to defend against numerous ballistic and cruise missile threats in ‘raid’ scenarios.
No other nation in the world has the capability to do what the U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency demonstrated today.
During the test, an SM-3 Block IB destroyed a short-range ballistic missile target, while two SM-2 Block IIIAs successfully engaged two cruise missile targets.
The SM-3’s kill vehicle is designed to destroy INCOMING short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats by colliding with them in space, a concept sometimes described as “hitting a bullet with a bullet.” The SM-2 is a fleet-area air defense weapon capable of providing extended-area air defense.
The SM-3 Block IB is deployed with the U.S. Navy, while the SM-2 is deployed by the U.S. and eight allied navies.
Press release, Image: Raytheon