An F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Dec. 8, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s plans to test a Battle Management Aid on one of its aircraft carriers, as the service pursues a tactical data network to link up its sensors and weapons. Read More
A SM-3 Block IIA is launched from the USS John Finn, an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System-equipped destroyer, Nov. 16, 2020, as part of Flight Test Aegis Weapons System-44 (FTM-44). MDA Photo
The Navy and the Missile Defense Agency proved that an Aegis ballistic missile defense ship could effectively take down an intercontinental ballistic missile and serve as a backup to a ground-based homeland defense interceptor, the MDA announced on Tuesday. Read More
A SM-6 Dual I fired from USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) during a Dec. 14, 2016 MDA BMD test. MDA Photo
To get to a layered, in-depth homeland missile defense system developing key networking and communications links between ballistic missile defense ships and at-shore installations is crucial, the head of the Missile Defense Agency said this week. Read More
A target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii during Flight Test Standard Missile-45. USS John Finn (DDG-113) detected and tracked the target missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system. Upon acquiring and tracking the target, the ship launched an SM-3 Block IIA guided missile which intercepted the target. Missile Defense Agency Photo
This post has been updated to correct the home port of USS John Finn. It is based in San Diego, Calif.
The Missile Defense Agency is nearing its planned defense-of-Hawaii test event with an Arleigh Burke destroyer and a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA, to prove the ship can serve as a back-up to ground-based homeland defense systems if needed. Read More
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), and U.S. Navy sailors aboard USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test Feb. 3 (Hawaii Standard Time), resulting in the first intercept of a ballistic missile target using the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA off the west coast of Hawaii. MDA photo.
This post has been updated to include additional context noting that any Standard Missile interceptor would cause the same safety concerns for the Japanese Aegis Ashore sites.
The U.S. military considers the development of the Standard Missile 3 Block IIA ballistic missile interceptor to be complete and the weapon ready for production, even as co-developer Japan has changed its mind about using the interceptor as part of a shore-based ballistic missile defense site. Read More
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Sailors manning the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex (AAMDTC) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii, successfully conducted Flight Test Integrated-03 (FTI-03). MDA photo.
Japan is backing away from installing two Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems in the country over technical concerns, Minster of Defense Taro Kono told reporters on Monday. Read More
The new Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland, will be home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System(AABMDS) mission. Photo represents construction progress as of August 2019. US Navy photo.
The Missile Defense Agency and Army Corps of Engineers are taking a harsh stance with a contractor building the Aegis Ashore site in Poland, after construction delays have pushed the site’s operational date back by four years. Read More
The following is the Dec. 11, 2019 Government Accountability Office report, Missile Defense: Further Collaboration with the Intelligence Community Would Help MDA Keep Pace with Emerging Threats. Read More
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. sailors manning the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex (AAMDTC) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii, successfully conducted Flight Test Integrated-03 (FTI-03) in 2018. MDA Photo
The Missile Defense Agency is working to up its game to meet new challenges posed by the next generation of precision-guided weapons the agency’s director said on Monday.
Artist’s concept of a HELIOS laser system aboard a U.S. destroyer. Lockheed Martin Image
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Department of Defense is focusing its directed energy weapons research on technologies ready to field now, placing on the backburner plans to create more complex space-based technology, the Pentagon’s head of research said on Wednesday.
