The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has successfully intercepted its first air-launched medium-range ballistic missile off the coast of Guam, the US Department of Defense said on December 10, Reuters reported.
The test, codenamed Flight Experiment Mission-02 (FEM-02), demonstrated the capabilities of the Aegis Guam system integrated with the new AN/TPY-6 radar and vertical launch system.
A Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missile manufactured by RTX Corp. was used to shoot down the ballistic target.
MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins called the tests “a grand team effort” and emphasized their importance in validating Guam's joint surveillance architecture and integrated air and missile defense capabilities.
The publication writes that this successful intercept is part of a larger initiative to develop the Guam Defense System (GDS). Its goal is to create an advanced integrated air and missile defense system. MDA intends to use the data obtained to further refine the concept and requirements for the future GDS.
MDA is a Pentagon unit that is engaged in the creation of a multi-level ballistic missile defense system. It has a history dating back to Reagan's Star Wars program in 1983. It is currently headed by Vice Admiral John Hill.
Recall that on November 22, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced the “successful tests of the Oreshnik missile and the availability of ready-made systems in service. According to him, there are no analogues of this weapon in the world, as well as means of intercepting it. The GUR of the Ministry of Defense then stated that the Russian Federation could create only “two or a little more” prototypes of such a ballistic missile (military intelligence calls it “Kedr”).