Jay Clemens
The U.S. Navy has kicked off operations on a Raytheon-made missile interceptor system in collaboration with the Missile Defense Agency.
The Standard Missile-3 Block IB is built to destroy ballistic missile targets on impact, Raytheon said Wednesday.
Taylor Lawrence, president of Raytheon Missile Systems, said the missile system is intended to help military customers worldwide combat ballistic missile threats.
“The SM-3 Block IB’s completion of initial operational testing last year set the stage for a rapid deployment to theater,” he added.
The deployment is part of the Phased Adaptive Approach program’s second phase following the initial launch of SM-3 Block IAs aboard the USS Monterey in 2011.
The SM-3 Block IB will be tested on the Aegis Ashore system along with the upgraded Aegis BMD weapons system in 2014 at the Kauai, Hawaii-based Pacific Missile Range Facility.
