Aegis Combat System tests ability to counter hypersonic ballistic missile threats
NewsMarch 26, 2025
KAUAI, Hawaii. The USS Pinckney (DDG 91) conducted a simulated engagement of a hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) using the Aegis Combat System during Flight Test Other-40 (FTX-40), Lockheed Martin announced in a statement.
The test, supported by the U.S. Navy, Missile Defense Agency, Lockheed Martin, and industry partners, used a simulated Standard Missile-6 Block IAU to engage the live MRBM target in a scenario designed to replicate a hypersonic threat, the statement reads. The test marked the operational use of the latest Aegis software in a virtualized configuration for a ballistic missile defense mission.
According to the company, the exercise validated software and hardware upgrades under Capability Package 24 / BMD 5.1.5 and demonstrated progress toward upcoming live-fire intercept tests. The Aegis system, fielded in both ship- and land-based platforms, was originally developed for air and missile defense but is now being adapted to address hypersonic threats.
The FTX-40 event follows previous test events such as FTX-23 and FTM-32, which focused on sensor tracking, communications, and intercept capability using upgraded SM-6 missile variants, the company says.
