The Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Navy sailors aboard USS Hopper (DDG 70) successfully conducted two developmental flight tests of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB Threat Upgrade guided missile on May 25 and 26 (2016) off the west coast of Hawaii. The flight tests, designated Controlled Test Vehicle (CTV)-01a and CTV-02, demonstrated the successful performance of design modifications to the SM-3 third-stage rocket motor (TSRM) nozzle.
The results of these flight tests will support a future SM-3 Block IB production authorization request. This imagery is from the first developmental test conducted on may 25th, designated as Controlled Test Vehicle (CTV)-01a.
Missile Defense Agency video by Leah Garton Video edited by USA Patriotism!
