The latest test of the US Navy's Theatre Wide (NTW) ballistic missile defence system failed on 14 July because of an undetermined malfunction.
The Aegis LEAP Intercept (ALI) Flight Test Round (FTR-1) flight test was conducted in the mid-Pacific from a USN Aegis-class cruiser. It was the first risk reduction flight of the Raytheon Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) with a new third stage rocket motor and the second flight in the ALI series.
The USN says the SM-3 missile performed normally during launch until the malfunction occurred. Flight data is being analysed.
The first ALI flight test last September met all mission objectives. The test series will culminate in the planned intercept of a theatre ballistic missile target in the exoatmosphere.
The three-stage SM-3 missile carries a kinetic "hit-to-kill" warhead called LEAP (light exoatmospheric projectile). The NTW is designed to intercept medium- and long-range missiles while the Navy Area system, which uses a modified Standard SM-2 surface-to-air missile, would be used against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
NTW would supplement the proposed National Missile Defense system. All Aegis cruisers should have NTW by 2010.
Source: Flight International