Missile defense test uses Pearl Harbor destroyer

Officials say the U.S. military’s sea-based missile defense system successfully intercepted an intermediate-range missile for the first time during a test more than 2,000 miles off Hawaii, Associated Press reported. The Missile Defense Agency said the USS Hopper destroyer equipped with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system radar tracked the target, which was launched from a Marshall Islands atoll about 2,300 miles south of Hawaii.

The U.S. Navy has deployed 21 destroyers with the Aegis system and Standard Missiles made by Waltham, Massachusetts- based Raytheon Co. (RTN), primarily designed to shoot down short- and medium-range missiles, Bloomberg reported. Newer versions of the interceptor are designed to hit enemy missiles with longer ranges.

Comments on the military and political significance of the test were made in a statement by Riki Ellison, Chairman and Founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), on Kauai:

“Validation of Phase I of President Obama’s Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) for Europe has been achieved with this successful demonstration. Phase I is the deployment of an Aegis BMD ship with SM-3 Block IA missiles in the Eastern Mediterranean, coupled with forward based AN/TPY-2 radar in either Turkey or Bulgaria, to provide defensive capability against Iran for southern Europe by the end of this year.

“This demonstrated ‘launch on remote’ capability will provide immediate protection for Israel, where an AN/TPY-2 radar is already based. There is another forward-based radar in Shariki, Japan, that could be configured to offer the same early information to the Aegis BMD ships in their mission to protect Japan, Guam, South Korea and the U.S. forward operating bases there.

“The launch on remote’ demonstration displays the proven capability of the Aegis BMD system, AN/TPY-2 radar and SM-3 Block IA interceptors to track and defeat missiles like the Iranian Sejil-2 and currently deployed North Korean ballistic missiles. Upcoming future deployments of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries and their forward-based X-band radars in the Persian Gulf and in the Far East, combined with the current Aegis BMD system, will provide much greater extended protection for our troops, forward bases and allies.

“Having this proven capability to defeat the best missiles that Iran and North Korea currently have in place sends a strong message of deterrence and counter-proliferation that will help stabilize these volatile regions.”