The Navy and the Missile Defense Agency are preparing for another test of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system off Hawaii. The agency said Tuesday that the target, a short-range ballistic missile, will be fired Thursday from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The USS Hopper will track the target and then fire and guide an SM-3 Block IA missile to intercept the target. If all goes well, the three-stage Navy interceptor should hit the target in the upper atmosphere. Meanwhile, the USS O'Kane will conduct a simulated engagement and the USS Lake Erie will detect and track the target. The agency said the test, dubbed Stellar Avenger, will be the 23rd firing by ships equipped with the Aegis system. One of the 18 successes involved shooting down a dead U.S. spy satellite in space last year. On Feb. 20, 2008, an SM-3 was launched from the Lake Erie northwest of Hawaii. The missile's small «kill vehicle» _ a non-explosive device at the tip _ maneuvered into the path of the satellite, and they collided At the time, Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the satellite and the kill vehicle collided at a combined speed of 22,000 mph (35,400 kph) about 130 miles (209 kilometers) above Earth's surface. Following the test, the three ships were to participate in an engineering evaluation of a recently installed advanced version of the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) weapon system. The test will mark the first time the Lake Erie will use the new system during a live firing to evaluate fire control functions, including the launch of a simulated SM-3 Block IB missile. In late 2010, the ship is slated to use the advanced system to actually fire a new SM-3 Block IB. «This advanced Aegis BMD system will improve the probability of kill against advanced threats,» the Missile Defense Agency said in a news release quoted by The Associated Press.
