Early this morning, we successfully intercepted a ballistic missile in space with another missile fired from a destroyer in the middle of the ocean.
This is a big deal for the Missile Defense Agency, and the Aegis BMD.
1/4
This is a big deal for the Missile Defense Agency, and the Aegis BMD.
1/4
The Aegis is a sea-based midcourse defense system and part of our broader, layered missile defense strategy. This means that the Aegis system targets missiles after their initial boost phase and before reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Here’s a very simple graphic of that. 2/4
Here’s a very simple graphic of that. 2/4
This test is interesting, because intercepting a ballistic missile is hard, and this gives us more options.
You may have heard of THAAD and/or Patriot missile defense systems. These are designed to intercept later in the flight path (during the ‘terminal’ or re-entry phase) 3/4
You may have heard of THAAD and/or Patriot missile defense systems. These are designed to intercept later in the flight path (during the ‘terminal’ or re-entry phase) 3/4
Anyway, tests don’t always equate to the real world, but it’s good to have options. A layered, interoperable defense with Aegis, THAAD, Patriot, and our ground-based interceptors (GBI) both helps keep us safe and reduces the chance we ever have to use any of them. (End)
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