The test, in which an Aegis ballistic missile cruiser shot down a target fired from Hawaii, was the first exo-atmospheric kinetic intercept of a ballistic missile in the ascent phase of flight, and the third intercept from an Aegis warship.
The test involved the third straight intercept by a SM 3 missile launched from a cruiser, the U.S.S. Lake Erie, equipped with the Aegis fleet air defense system.