The crew of the frigate Lake Erie has completed a successful test flight of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The test took place May 15 in the Pacific Ocean, and involved the launch of a ballistic-missile target from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. Lake Erie detected and tracked the missile target’s path using its AN/SPY-1 radar system. The crew launched an SM-3 Block IB missile. Guided by the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, the missile traveled to an appropriate point in space where it could deploy its kinetic warhead. In turn, the warhead found the target vehicle and destroyed it. The mission marks the 25th successful intercept conducted by the Aegis system since it began flight tests in 2002.
