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The US Navy and Missile Defense Agency have successfully completed a multi-sensor test demonstrating the capacity of the Aegis Weapon System to track and discriminate a complex target scene of a medium-range ballistic missile target with countermeasures.
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The two-part development test was conducted off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, demonstrating one of the most complicated target discrimination and intercept missions by the Aegis Weapon System to date.
This test was planned as a tracking event of a complex target with the primary objective of collecting data on the target scene from multiple sensors across different viewing angles.
Conducted by two of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyers, the USS McCampbell (DDG 85) and USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), along with Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex and Advanced Radar Development Evaluation Laboratory.
US Missile Defense Agency director Lieutenant General Heath Collins said, “We are working closely with the Navy to provide new and enhanced capabilities against a constantly evolving threat.”
Where the first part of the test delivered developmental test of the Flight Test Other-23 (FTX-23) or Stellar Sisyphus in gathering essential developmental test of sensor tracking and communications link capabilities, the second part of this test included the firing of a Standard Missile – 3 Block IIA (SM-3 Blk IIA), which intercepted the same medium-range ballistic missile target, verifying additional functionality of the SM-3 Blk IIA.
“Today’s successful test was a key milestone in giving our Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships increased sensing and tracking tools to combat threat proliferation. This was an incredible accomplishment and I commend the US Navy Sailors, the MDA team and our industry partners,” Lt Gen Collins added.
Designed as a tracking event of a complex target with the primary objective of collecting data on the target scene from multiple sensors across different viewing angles, while not deemed necessary to achieve this objective, the SM-3 Blk IIA and the Aegis Weapons System demonstrated additional reserve capability with the successful hit.
The data collection will help anchor modelling and simulation for future tracking and discrimination capabilities and improvements.
