Sea change in missile defense

Last week’s successful sea-based ballistic missile interception has proved the feasibility of the technology – and shows vastly increased effectiveness now that the US can shoot down enemy missiles at several points along their trajectories.

The test, in which an Aegis ballistic missile cruiser shot down a target fired from Hawaii, was the first exo-atmospheric kinetic intercept of a ballistic missile in the ascent phase of flight, and the third intercept from an Aegis warship.

The inherent mobility of the Navy’s Aegis cruisers and destroyers — of which there are now more than 60 in the fleet — offers the possibility of affording antimissile defenses not only to the territory of the United States but to our allies and American forces overseas, as well, as the Center for Security Policy notes in National Review.

This website offers the first look at the Department of Defense’s Power Point presentation of the test, titled "Mission Success." To view the presentation, click here.