Missile Defense Agency

MDA: Test of DDG, Standard Missile-3 IIA a Good Start, But More Work Needed on Homeland Defense Mission

On Nov. 16, U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Navy sailors aboard USS John Finn (DDG 113), an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System-equipped destroyer, fired a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA guided missile that successfully intercepted and destroyed a mock Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) during a flight test demonstration in the broad ocean area northeast of Hawaii in November 2020. MDA photo.

The Missile Defense Agency proved that a Navy destroyer with a Standard Missile-3 Block...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/13/mda-test-of-ddg-standard-missile-3-iia-a-good-start-but-more-work-needed-on-homeland-defense-mission

Navy Testing Battle Management Aid on Aircraft Carrier

An F-35C Lightning II assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Dec. 8, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s plans to test a Battle Management Aid on one of its aircraft carriers, as the service pursues a tactical data network to link up its sensors and weapons.

After years of working on the Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) network, the Navy this...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/26/navy-testing-battle-management-aid-on-aircraft-carrier

VIDEO: MDA, Navy Down ICBM with Destroyer-Launched Missile Interceptor

A SM-3 Block IIA is launched from the USS John Finn, an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System-equipped destroyer, Nov. 16, 2020, as part of Flight Test Aegis Weapons System-44 (FTM-44). MDA Photo

The Navy and the Missile Defense Agency proved that an Aegis ballistic missile defense ship could effectively take down an intercontinental ballistic missile and serve as a backup to a ground-based homeland defense interceptor, the MDA announced on Tuesday.

FTM-44, mandated by Congress, pitted an ICBM...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/17/video-mda-navy-down-icbm-with-destroyer-launched-missile-interceptor

MDA Head: Homeland Missile Defense Effort Needs Enhanced Network

A SM-6 Dual I fired from USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) during a Dec. 14, 2016 MDA BMD test. MDA Photo

To get to a layered, in-depth homeland missile defense system developing key networking and communications links between ballistic missile defense ships and at-shore installations is crucial, the head of the Missile Defense Agency said this week.

A layered BMD network is necessary to deter great powers like Russia and China, and regional challengers like North Korea, Vice Adm. John Hill, director...

https://news.usni.org/2020/08/20/mda-head-homeland-missile-defense-effort-needs-enhanced-network

MDA to Use Destroyer USS John Finn for Defense-of-Hawaii Missile Intercept Test

A target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii during Flight Test Standard Missile-45. USS John Finn (DDG-113) detected and tracked the target missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system. Upon acquiring and tracking the target, the ship launched an SM-3 Block IIA guided missile which intercepted the target. Missile Defense Agency Photo

The Missile Defense Agency is nearing its planned defense-of-Hawaii test event...

https://news.usni.org/2020/08/05/mda-to-use-destroyer-uss-john-finn-for-defense-of-hawaii-missile-intercept-test

MDA Director Says SM-3 Block IIA Ready for Production, Despite Safety Concerns From Co-Developer Japan

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), and U.S. Navy sailors aboard USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test Feb. 3 (Hawaii Standard Time), resulting in the first intercept of a ballistic missile target using the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA off the west coast of Hawaii. MDA photo.

The U.S. military considers the development of the Standard Missile 3 Block IIA ballistic missile interceptor to be complete and the weapon ready...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/19/mda-director-says-sm-3-block-iia-ready-for-production-despite-safety-concerns-from-co-developer-japan

Japan Backing Away From Aegis Ashore

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Sailors manning the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex (AAMDTC) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii, successfully conducted Flight Test Integrated-03 (FTI-03). MDA photo.

Japan is backing away from installing two Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems in the country over technical concerns, Minster of Defense Taro Kono told reporters on Monday.

“In view of the cost and time [necessary] for the deployment, we...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/15/japan-backing-away-from-aegis-ashore

MDA, Army Withholding Pay as Aegis Ashore Poland Construction Still Drags

The new Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland, will be home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System(AABMDS) mission. Photo represents construction progress as of August 2019. US Navy photo.

The Missile Defense Agency and Army Corps of Engineers are taking a harsh stance with a contractor building the Aegis Ashore site in Poland, after construction delays have pushed the site’s operational date back by four years.

MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill told lawmakers today that the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/12/mda-army-withholding-pay-as-aegis-ashore-poland-construction-still-drags

GAO Report on U.S. Missile Defense and Emerging Threats

The following is the Dec. 11, 2019 Government Accountability Office report, Missile Defense: Further Collaboration with the Intelligence Community Would Help MDA Keep Pace with Emerging Threats.

What GAO Found

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is experiencing delays getting the threat assessments needed to inform its acquisition decisions. Officials from the defense intelligence community—intelligence organizations within the Department of Defense (DOD)—told GAO this is because they are currently...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/12/gao-report-on-u-s-missile-defense-and-emerging-threats

Missile Defense Agency Shaping Strategy to Meet Evolving Challenges

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. sailors manning the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex (AAMDTC) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii, successfully conducted Flight Test Integrated-03 (FTI-03) in 2018. MDA Photo

The Missile Defense Agency is working to up its game to meet new challenges posed by the next generation of precision-guided weapons the agency’s director said on Monday.

Vice Adm. Jon Hill, four months into his assignment, said the agency is...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/07/missile-defense-agency-shaping-strategy-to-meet-evolving-challenges

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