<i>Japanese destroyer scores hit during SM-3 test</i>
JDS Kongou, a 9,485-ton Japanese destroyer, has successfully completed a test firing of the Raytheon Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) Block 1A, scoring a hit on medium-range ballistic missile target on 17 December.
Using the Aegis ballistic missile defence (BMD) system, Kongou became the first Japanese ship to use the SM-3 to engage and intercept a ballistic missile target. The interception took place more than 100 miles (161 km) above the Pacific Ocean within the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii.
"During the test, the Japanese naval crew exchanged track information via satellite with US naval assets, demonstrating the missile defence interoperability between the two countries," said a Raytheon statement. This test was the 12th successful intercept recorded by the Aegis BMD system and the SM-3 missile.
In 2003, Japan decided to upgrade its Kongou-class destroyers to integrate with the US Navy's Aegis BMD Block IV standard. Kongou was the first ship to receive the update; further installations are expected on the remaining three destroyers in the class between 2007 and 2010 at one-year intervals.
The missile defence system will also be fitted to the two 10,000-ton Japanese Atago-class destroyers the first of which was commissioned on 15th March, with the second scheduled to be commissioned on 15 March, with the second scheduled to commissioned in March 2008.
"Each installation will be followed by a flight test to demonstrate the proper operation of the Aegis BMD equipment and computer programmes," Boeing said in a statement.
Source: Jane's Defence Weekly.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments