Standard Missile Completes First Test Launch from Aegis Ashore Test Site
The Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Navy successfully conducted the first flight test of the Aegis Ashore system at the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex and Pacific Missile Range Facility.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy successfully conducted the first flight test of the Aegis Ashore system at the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex and Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), according to a Defense Department news release. The Aegis Weapon System fired a Standard Missile (SM)-3 Block IB guided missile from the Vertical Launch System (VLS), which successfully acquired, tracked and engaged a simulated ballistic missile target. A live target missile launch was not planned for Tuesday’s flight test. The main purpose of the test, designated Aegis Ashore Controlled Test Vehicle (AA CTV)-01, was to confirm the functionality of Aegis Ashore by launching a land-based SM-3, the release states. The Aegis Ashore system uses a nearly identical configuration of the VLS, fire control system and SPY-1 radar now in use aboard Aegis cruisers and destroyers. The flight test is part of the developing Aegis Ashore capability of Phase 2 of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, slated for placement in Romania in 2015.
