US-Japan air defense missile interception failed.

　　Gongchunke

　　The standard type 3 Block 2A air defense missile jointly developed by the United States and Japan failed to intercept recently. This is the fourth flight test of this type of missile and the second launch on a warship equipped with Aegis air defense system. For the reason of missile interception failure, the US media claimed that a crew member on the ship entered the wrong instruction, which led the combat system to think that the intercepted missile belonged to friendly forces, and ordered the launched air defense missile to self-destruct in the air.

　　The standard type 3 Block 2A air defense missile, also known as SM-3BlockIIA missile, was officially developed in 2006. Raytheon Company of the United States is responsible for system development and integration, while other American companies are responsible for boosters, guidance parts and kinetic energy warheads. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan is responsible for developing the second-stage engine, third-stage engine and nose cone of the missile. The United States, Japan and other countries have high hopes for the standard type 3 Block 2A air defense missile, because it is an air defense missile equipped for the well-known Aegis system.

　　The standard type 3 Block 2A missile has an enhanced defense capability for medium and long-range missiles, and has a strong interception capability for missiles with a range of less than 5,500 kilometers, and also has a certain interception capability for intercontinental missiles with a range of more than 5,500 kilometers. The "Standard -3" interceptor missile can collide with the predetermined target in the air, and it has the ability of "hitting the bullet with a bullet", and the impact force caused is equivalent to that of a truck weighing 10 tons driving at 960 kilometers per hour. The new generation of standard type 3 Block 2A missile rocket engine is larger, the defense field is wider, and the kinetic energy warhead is larger.

　　At present, the Aegis system is the main maritime air defense system in active service of the United States and its allies. More than 100 ships in the world have been equipped with Lockheed Martin’s Aegis system, most of which belong to the US Navy, including Ticonderoga Aegis guided missile cruiser and Alli Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer. Aegis is popular among navies all over the world because of its excellent performance, so many countries are scrambling to buy it. Six countries in the world have this continuously improved system, namely the United States, Norway, Spain, Japan, South Korea and Australia. Australia has three Aegis ships, while Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force currently has six destroyers equipped with Aegis system.

　　The relevant person in charge of the US Missile Defense Agency said that the standard type 3 Block 2A air defense missile is very important to the United States and Japan, which can strengthen the ability of the two countries to counter the threat of ballistic missiles. In other words, once the missile technology is mature and widely used in the US Navy and its allies, it will greatly improve the strategic air defense capability of the Aegis system.

　　The first successful test of the combination of standard type 3 Block 2A air defense missile and Aegis "gun" and "bomb" was on January 29 this year, and the test site was near the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. After nearly five months, the missile failed to intercept. After a month’s investigation, the United States announced the reason for the failure of missile interception — — It turned out that the missile was self-destructed by mistaking the friendly target for the wrong command.

　　This survey reveals that this type of missile has not solved many problems in key technical fields such as timely and accurate target identification and intelligent precise guidance and control. The stability and reliability of the standard type 3 Block 2A air defense missile need to be improved, and it will take time to reach the new standard and play a new role.