The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that a new missile interceptor it is developing failed to shoot down an intermediate-range ballistic missile during a test this week off of Hawaii.
But the failure of the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor was not a complete loss for the program, chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.
“It did not meet our objectives, but we learn something all the time with these tests and we’ve learned something from this one,” White said. “We will continue to improve our capabilities.”
Officials did not immediately acknowledge the missed intercept on the day of the launch, the first such missile shootdown test involving an SM-3 Block IIA interceptor launched from the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system.
Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, the director of the Missile Defense Agency, said in a statement Thursday that the agency was “disappointed” by the failure, but the valuable test data will be used to improve the missile defense system.
While still in development, the new SM-3 variant could be used to shoot down enemy missiles with regional ranges and provide a protective umbrella for areas such as the Western Pacific, where U.S. bases and allies such as Japan are threatened by North Korea.
The U.S. relies on a separate system of ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California to protect from the intercontinental ballistic missiles now being developed by the North.
The SM-3 “would not be the weapon that we would use against an ICBM targeting the continental United States,” Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, director of the Joint Staff, told reporters.
The test on Wednesday did rack up some firsts for the program, which is being tested and developed by the MDA.
It was the first land-based launch as well as the first time both ground and space-based sensors were used in an Aegis launch, according to MDA spokesman Mark Wright.
