Japanese destroyers JS Haguro and JS Maya successfully shoot down ballistic missiles with state-of-the-art Raytheon SM-3 Block IIA interceptors

The United States and Japan held a joint Flight Test Mission-07 exercise near Hawaii to test the SM-3 Block IIA missile interceptors developed by Raytheon and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

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Like South Korea, Japan is testing missile defense capabilities amid North Korean missile activity. Last week, for example, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Japan and the U.S. had been conducting tests for two weeks. They ended a few days ago, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced on November 21. The Japanese destroyers JS Haguro and JS Maya took part in the tests.

In the first test, the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor launched from the JS Maya destroyer successfully hit a medium-range ballistic missile. The ship is equipped with the Aegis missile defense system.

The destroyer JS Haguro participated in subsequent tests. The ship was able to hit a ballistic missile and a BQM-177 unmanned target using SM-3 Block IB and SM-2 Block IIIB missile interceptors.

Japan currently has eight ships that carry the Aegis missile defense system. In the future, the Japanese defense forces will receive two more ships with Aegis, although it was originally planned to create two land-based missile defense systems under the Aegis Ashore project, which was canceled due to "technical difficulties".

Source: Defense News