The Missile Defense Agency announced [pdf file] the completion of a successful Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense “hit to kill” intercept flight test:
.The test involved for the first time a “separating” target, meaning that the target warhead separated from its booster rocket. This was the sixth successful intercept test in seven flight tests conducted since intercept tests began in 2002. Previous tests were against unitary (nonseparating)
targets representative of “SCUD”-type ballistic missiles.[. . .]
At approximately 8:12 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time (1:12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) a medium-range separating target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii.
[. . .]
Approximately four minutes later, the USS LAKE ERIE’s crew fired the SM-3, and six minutes later the interceptor missile successfully intercepted the target warhead more than 100 miles in space above the Pacific Ocean and 375 miles northwest of Kauai
According to the Associated Press, the successful test is a significant achievement because it is difficult to track multi-stage missiles after such a missile's stages separate.
The Lake Erie is equipped with technology that allows it to detect and track intercontinental ballistic missiles. Since last year, U.S. warships with the ICBM tracking technology have been patrolling the Sea of Japan, on the lookout for missiles from North Korea.
Thanks to Smash for the tip.
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