In a move that was likely watched closely by nuclear-armed North Korea, a U.S. Navy Aegis-equipped destroyer successfully intercepted a mock intercontinental ballistic missile in a first-of-its-kind test Tuesday.
The U.S. destroyer took part in the test off Hawaii, firing off a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile jointly developed with Japan, to destroy the target launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, some 4,000 kilometers from Hawaii.
¡°This was an incredible accomplishment and critical milestone for the Aegis BMD SM-3 Block IIA program,¡± Vice Adm. Jon Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), said in a statement.
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