Destroyer conducts Aegis tests with upgraded combat system

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- A series of five live-fire tests of the Aegis combat system were performed earlier this month by the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones.

The U.S. Navy said the tests in the Pacific were for the Baseline 9C Aegis Combat System and part of the ship's combat systems qualification trials.

A total of six targets were engaged, the Navy said, using Standard Missile-6 missiles and a Standard Missile-2 missile.

During the ship's underway period, it also performed its first ballistic missile tracking exercise while simultaneously tracking two supersonic and two subsonic missile targets.

The USS John Paul Jones had recently received modernization of its combat systems. Among the upgrades: the latest commercial-off-the-shelf computing infrastructure, upgrades to its SPY-1D transmitter, and a new multi-mission signal processor, which comprises the Aegis Baseline 9C suite.

Additional details of the tests conducted were not provided by the Navy.