HMAS Stuart helps on US missile-detection test

Australia supported the United States as it undertook a successful missile-defence test off the coast of Hawaii recently.

CAPTION: US Missile Defence Agency member Steven Foster shows Royal Australian Navy Petty Officer Thomas Dann how to control detection equipment in the Hanger of HMAS Stuart during a missile-detection test off Hawaii. Photo by Leading Seaman Rikki-Lea Phillips.

Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force assets supported the test conducted by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the US Navy.

The US test involved the successful intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) target.

This was the US MDA’s most complex test to date against a priority threat target and demonstrated the capability of the Aegis Weapon System to detect, track, engage and intercept an MRBM target in the terminal phase of flight.

During the test, Australia demonstrated its advanced radar capabilities aboard a Royal Australian Navy vessel HMAS Stuart, while a RAAF E-7 Wedgetail assisted in data collection and communications.

Australia’s Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said the test was a unique opportunity to work closely with the US Missile Defense Agency and US Navy as they tested the Aegis Weapon System’s ability to detect, track and defend against short-to-medium-range ballistic missiles, while we simultaneously observed the performance of our own systems.

“It is a great example of our deepening defence engagement with the US and an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the Australian Defence Force’s interoperability with the US Navy,” Lieutenant General Bilton said.

US Missile Defense Agency Director Lieutenant General Heath Collins said the successful intercept against an advanced threat-representative target in the final stages of flight demonstrated the power and flexibility of the Aegis Weapons System.

“The Missile Defense Agency is very grateful and honored to have had Australia participate in this important test and we look forward to working together with all of our allies on future collaborations to detect and maintain deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.”

 

 

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