The United States announced Wednesday the first live-fire test of a Raytheon Company SM-3 missile from the land-based version of Lockheed Martin Corporation's Aegis missile-defense system, which will be operational in Romania next year. Lockheed said it was the first test of the Aegis system using a land-based missile launcher. The test, conducted at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Hawaii late Tuesday, is a significant milestone for the Aegis Ashore weapon system, which is designed to protect U.S. and NATO forces in Europe from a ballistic-missile attack. During the test, the Aegis system used on U.S. warships around the world detected, tracked, and engaged a simulated ballistic-missile target using a Raytheon missile, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the companies. "We're now one step closer to achieving an operational Aegis Ashore capability to combat missile-defense threats to further protect our nation and allies," Lockheed's Brendan Scanlon said in a statement.
