Japan, U.S. carry out joint missile test

LIHUE, Hawaii, March 9 (UPI) -- Japan and the United States have successfully tested an upgraded version of the Standard Missile-3 interceptor missile off Hawaii.

The test was carried out Wednesday off Kauai Island to check how well a Japanese-designed nose cone would separate from the interceptor, allowing a warhead to shoot down an enemy ballistic missile, Kyodo News reported Thursday.

U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Henry Obering said a measuring and monitoring instrument was loaded in place of the kinetic warhead. It recorded temperature and shock readings during the flight test, and its cameras viewed the successful separation of the clamshell nose cone.

"This flight test mission is an important milestone in the project and is an example of the close coordination between the United States and Japan in ballistic missile defense," Obering said.

Japan and the United States began jointly researching ballistic missile defense technology in 1999, one year after North Korea test-fired a long-range missile over northern Japan.

Tokyo and Washington agreed last year to move the project to the development stage from the research stage.