NAVY NEWS WEEK 7-2 13 February 2017 US, Japan Successfully Conduct First SM-3 Block IIA Intercept Test Release Date: 2/4/2017 10:15:00 AM From Missile Defense Agency PEARL HARBOR (July 27, 2015) The guided- missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) departs Joint Base Pearl-Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled underway. John Paul Jones replaced USS Lake Erie (CG 70) in Hawaii as the nation's ballistic missile defense test ship. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nardel Gervacio/Released) WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the Japan Ministry of Defense, and U.S. Navy Sailors aboard USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test Feb. 3 (Hawaii Standard Time), resulting in the first intercept of a ballistic missile target using the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3). The SM-3 Block IIA is being developed cooperatively by the United States and Japan to defeat medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The SM-3 Block IIA interceptor operates as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system and can be launched from Aegis-equipped ships or Aegis Ashore sites. At approximately 10:30 p.m., Hawaii Standard Time, Feb. 3 (3:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Feb. 4) a medium-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii. John Paul Jones detected and tracked the target missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1D(V) radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system. Upon acquiring and tracking the target, the ship launched an SM-3 Block IIA guided missile which intercepted the target. "Today's test demonstrates a critical milestone in the cooperative development of the SM-3 Block IIA missile," said MDA Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring. "The missile, developed jointly by a Japanese and U.S. government and industry team, is vitally important to both our nations and will ultimately improve our ability to defend against increasing ballistic missile threats around the world." Based on preliminary data the test met its primary objective. Program officials will continue to evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test. The flight test, designated SM-3 Block IIA Cooperative Development (SCD) Project Flight Test, Standard Missile (SFTM)-01, was the third flight test of the SM-3 Block IIA guided missile, and the first intercept test. This test also marks the first time an SM-3IIA was launched from an Aegis ship and the first intercept engagement using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 (BMD 5.1) weapon system. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense is the naval component of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System. The MDA and the U.S. Navy cooperatively manage the Aegis BMD program. The Missile Defense Agency's mission is to develop and deploy a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies and friends from ballistic missile attacks of all ranges in all phases of flight. Source: www.navy.mil The Arleigh Burke class destroyer really is a very capable ship! ON THIS DAY 10 February 1906: HMS Dreadnought, the ship that changed the face of maritime warfare and strategy in the 20th century, was launched by King Edward VII after only four months on the ways. She went to sea on 3 October 1906 for her sea trials, only a year and a day after construction started and was formally commissioned on 11 December 1906, fifteen months after she was laid down. The ship cost £1,783,883 to build (approximately £200m in today‘s money). See the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgrBL0zjYZU&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Website+Subscribers&utm_campaign=df a609a812-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_02_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d64f016b1a-dfa609a812-185448553 I hope that the readers noted one of the earliest destroyers steaming next to HMS Dreadnought in one of the early pictures. Plymouth warship HMS Argyll sets sail again after 20-month refit By Carl_Eve | Posted: February 07, 2017 HMS Argyll at sea after refit The Royal Navy warship HMS Argyll has set sail again following a 20-month refit at its Devonport dockyard base. The Type 23 frigate sailed with the very latest Royal Navy sensors and equipment newly fitted, in particular the new Sea Ceptor air-defence missile system, for which she will lead the first acceptance trials for the class of warship in the Navy later in the year. Her crew, led by the captain Commander Toby Shaughnessy, has been working hard with the MOD's industrial partner Babcock, who delivered the refit to get her ready for sea. Recently completing the last of her pre-sailing machinery trials and a busy period of safety drills, the 171-man crew is delighted to be back at sea. Commander Shaughnessy said: "It is always extremely challenging to re-generate our ships following their routine periodical refits. "They are complicated machines and the vast array of equipment needs close attention when we turn them on again after such a long period in dry dock. "I am very proud of the determination and professionalism of my crew throughout this busy period in getting the ship ready to return to sea. "We look forward to rejoining the fleet and contributing to its global operations once again." She will return to full operations with her sister Devonport ships thereafter. Babcock warship director, Mike Whalley, said: "We are delighted to play our part in returning HMS Argyll to sea in a significantly improved material state and with enhanced capability. "This has been the most complex Type 23 upkeep ever undertaken in Devonport – and the first UK warship class to have its missile system changed mid -life since the 1970s. "Key learning gained throughout the project will enhance our ability as class lead to life extend the rest of the class.'' A Royal Navy spokesman said the latest launch of HMS Argyll represents the culmination of more than 600,000 man hours of work at the Babcock Frigate Support Centre in Devonport Royal Dockyard. They noted that this is Babcock's completion of the first Type 23 'life-extension' upkeep, designed to extend the ship's operational life from 18 to 35 years: maintaining, updating and upgrading capability for the 21st century. Source: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk China ready for MASSIVE missile barrage „to cripple the US‟ CHINA is preparing for a global war and has been readying its military for a “massive preemptive missile strike” against the US, it has been revealed. By Henry Holloway / Published 9th February 2017 Satellite imagery reveals the superpower's huge missile testing grounds appear have been laid out to mimic American military bases in the Pacific. Missile targets seem to have been drawn up to resemble airfields, destroyers, aircraft carriers and fuel depots. Chilling images of the giant ranges are unveiled in a report by Commander Thomas Shugart, a submarine warfare officer in the US Navy. Beijing‘s mouthpiece media have openly talked up war with the US and the People‘s Liberation Army called war ―reality‖ in a recent statement. Commander Shugart‘s report, written for military analysis publication War on the Rocks, details the shocking reality of war in the Pacific. Photos reveal mock airfields, fake harbours, naval base targets, and shapes laid out like moored ships litter China‘s missile testing ranges. Layouts eerily match up to US bases in Japan such as the US Navy base in Yokosuka, Misawa Air Base, Kadena Air base and fuel depots in Hachinohe. Ships targets are almost identical to vessels such as the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and the US‘s aircraft carriers. WARONTHEROCKS Donald Trump today finally was revealed to have made contact with the Chinese adminstration after weeks of silence between Washington and Beijing. The new US President penned a letter to Xi Jinping asking for a "constructive relationship". Meanwhile, the Republican's top man Steve Bannon, his chief strategist, said he believed war with China was inevitable within "five to ten years". "US leaders and policymakers should understand that a preemptive Chinese missile strike against the forward bases that underpin US military power in the Western Pacific is a very real possibility,‖ writes the commander. Shugart added: "The United States and its allies should take action now to ensure that China does not think that it can gain the upper hand in a conflict through successful missile strikes against US bases in Asia. "They must ensure that China is not tempted, as some of the United States’ previous adversaries have been, into making the grave error of trying to knock the United States down, expecting it not to get back up.‖ US military leaders must practice ―rapid execution‖ drills to make sure China cannot gain the upper-hand should war come to the Pacific, he warned. Experts have claimed the US has as many as ―400‖ military bases surrounding China in a pincer movement designed to provoke Beijing. Beijing and Washington have been at loggerheads over the disputed South China Sea and new US President Donald Trump has slammed China of ―raping‖ the US. The US has talked up cutting trade as he squared up to the Asia-Pacific powerhouse as warships, missiles, bombers and fighter planes flood the region. Jack Ma, chief executive of online retailer Alibaba, warned ―if trade stops, war starts‖ when speaking at the launch of his company's Australia and New Zealand HQ in Melbourne. Source: http://www.dailystar.co.uk US, Chinese Military Aircraft See Close Encounter Over South China Sea The incident reportedly took place in airspace near Scarborough Shoal.