“The SM-3 Block IB’s completion of initial operational testing last year set the stage for a rapid deployment to theater,” said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, president of Raytheon Missile Systems. “The SM-3’s highly successful test performance gives combatant commanders around the world the confidence they need to counter the growing ballistic missile threat.”
As a press release notes, in 2009 the United States said it would adopt a more flexible approach to missile defense in the U.S. and Europe. The first phase of the Phased Adaptive Approach started in March 2011 when the USS Monterey deployed carrying SM-3 Block IAs.
In 2009, the administration announced the U.S.’s decision to adopt a new, more flexible approach to missile defense of both the U.S. and Europe. The Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) Phase 1 began in March 2011 when the USS Monterey deployed carrying SM-3 Block IAs.
“The SM-3 program’s evolution speaks to the importance of harnessing past successes to deliver increasingly capable systems to our customers, while reducing costs and delivery timelines,” said Dr. Mitch Stevison, Raytheon’s Standard Missile-3 program director.
SM-3s destroy incoming ballistic missile threats in space using nothing more than sheer impact, which is equivalent to a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 mph, the press release states.
Read more: http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2548
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