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No. 146-M
MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTS
September 29, 1999
NAVY'S FIRST SHIPBOARD TEST LAUNCH YIELDS SUCCESS
USS SHILOH (CG 67) conducted the AEGIS Light Exo-Atmospheric Projectile Intercept (ALI) Control Test Vehicle 1A (CTV-1A) flight test in the mid-Pacific using the range facilities of the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii, on Sept. 24. The CTV-1A flight test demonstrated the first shipboard launch of the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3), the U.S. Navy's new exo-atmospheric missile designed to counter the theater ballistic missile threat.
The launch achieved all test objectives demonstrating airframe stability and control through the second and third stage separation event.
The ALI project, part of the Navy Theater Wide (NTW) Theater Missile Defense program, is a progressive series of flight tests which culminate in a series of intercepts of theater ballistic missile targets in the exo-atmosphere. CTV-1A is a significant milestone in the ALI flight test series.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in Washington, D.C., and the Navy's Program Executive Office for Theater Surface Combatants (PEO(TSC)) are responsible for developing and fielding highly effective, AEGIS ship-based, missile defense for the joint warfighter. PEO(TSC) executes the NTW program. Lockheed Martin Government Electronic Systems develops the AEGIS weapon system installed in AEGIS cruisers. Raytheon Missile Systems Co. develops the SM-3 Missile.
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