Is US Preparing For War? US Navy, Japan Carry Out Successful Flight Test Of New Missile Defense System In Hawaii

The United States and Japan successfully tested a new missile defense system jointly developed by the two nations, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced in a statement.

A flight test for a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA was conducted off the coast of Hawaii Friday during which the defense system intercepted and destroyed an incoming ballistic missile target by detecting and tracking “the target missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1D(V) radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system,” the press release by MDA read.

This was the third flight test of the SM-3 Block IIA, which is vital to the security of the two nations, according to MDA Director Vice Admiral Jim Syring.

“Today’s test demonstrates a critical milestone in the cooperative development of the SM-3 Block IIA missile,” Syring said in the statement. “The missile, developed jointly by a Japanese and U.S. government and industry team, is vitally important to both our nations and will ultimately improve our ability to defend against increasing ballistic missile threats around the world.”

While the statement mentioned that the primary objective of the test was met, the system’s performance will be further evaluated through telemetry and other data gathered in the process.

The SM-3 Block IIA Interceptor has been developed by U.S. defense firm Raytheon and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with Tokyo reportedly covering most of the research and development costs. Reports say that the system is expected to be deployed at sea and in Poland in 2018.

The interceptor is compatible with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system which can be found on many Navy ships in Japan. The region is facing increased tensions over North Korea’s purported increase in nuclear capabilities, making the system an important part of the U.S.' and its allies’ defense against such a threat.