US Aegis Battle System Intercepts Ballistic Missile

Lockheed Martin's Aegis combat system has intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile with an anti-missile rocket fired from an Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer.

USS John Paul Jones Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer supported by the US Navy, Missile Defense Agency and Lockheed Martin used the latest evolution of its Aegis Combat System to detect, track, engage and launch a missile to intercept a Medium Range Ballistic Missile target, Lockheed Martin announced Monday.

It was first shipboard demonstration of the Aegis Baseline 9.2 (BMD 5.1) Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) tracking and engagement capabilities against more complex threats with increased battle space in support of the US Phased Adaptive Approach.

The Aegis system is central to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s increased deployments in Europe that are intended to counter perceived threats.

The system is able to link a network of ships, airplanes and ground forces in a single system that can detect, track and destroy enemy targets, especially missiles.

The central component of the Aegis BMD Combat System is the SPY-1 radar; the most widely-fielded naval phased array radar.