Boeing Supports Successful Intercept Test of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
WEBWIRE – August 3, 2009
The Boeing Company played a key role yesterday in the U.S. Navy’s successful test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system, which intercepted a ballistic missile target with a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3).
Fired from the USS Hopper, the SM-3 Block IA missile, guided by the Aegis BMD weapon system and a Boeing-built kinetic warhead sensor, engaged and destroyed the short-range ballistic missile target launched from the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The test marked the 15th hit-to-kill intercept for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system’s SM-3 since flight tests began in 2002.
“This successful test further validates the maturity and reliability of the SM-3 Block IA kinetic warhead” said Debra Rub, vice president of Boeing Weapons Programs. “Through rigorous, realistic testing, the system continues on a path to provide increased capability and expand the umbrella of protection against evolving ballistic missile threats” …
