Mary-Louise Hoffman
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Navy and the Japanese defense department have demonstrated a variant of Raytheon‘s Standard Missile-3 weapon during a live-fire flight test in Point Mogu, California.
Raytheon built a 21-inch-diameter system against medium and intermediate ballistic missile threats for U.S. and Japan’s SM-3 Cooperative Development Project, MDA said Tuesday.
The company said its SM-3 Block IIA launched from an MK 41 vertical launching platform at the Navy’s Point Mogu sea test range on Saint Nicholas Island.
The Controlled Test Vehicle-02 demonstration did not include a target intercept and aimed to evaluate the system’s  kinetic warhead, divert and attitude control technology, booster and rocket motor separation and nosecone and steering control functions.
“The success of this test keeps the program on track for deployment at sea and ashore in the 2018 timeframe,” said  Taylor Lawrence, president of Raytheon’s missile systems business.
Another live-fire test scheduled for 2016Â will include a ballistic missile target intercept scenario.
Raytheon designed SM-3s to destroy adversarial ballistic missiles in space through sheer impact and has delivered more than 230 units to defense customers to date.
