U.S. scores in naval missile-defense test

HONOLULU, June 23 (UPI) -- Another successful test of a U.S. sea-based missile-defense system took place in the Pacific with the interception of a ballistic missile in mid-flight.

The test off Hawaii was the ninth success in 11 tries for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System and had officials looking ahead to operational deployment aboard U.S. Navy war ships.

"With nine successful intercepts from three different ships with three different crews, we can now clearly see the potential to transfer this capability to any Aegis-equipped ship," Rear Adm. Brad Hicks said in a statement Friday night.

The test saw the cruiser USS Port Royal lock on to the missile and feed the targeting data to the nearby destroyer USS Decatur. The Decatur launched a Standard Missile 3 that destroyed the ballistic missile outside Earth's atmosphere.

The Aegis-equipped Spanish frigate Mendez Nunez was also involved in the test.

Lockheed Martin said the test also involved the Port Royal establishing a networking connection with a ground-based Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system. The THAAD and Aegis exchanged targeting data to demonstrate the interoperability of the two missile-defense systems.