HONOLULU, July 29, SPA -- The Navy and the Missile Defense Agency are preparing for another test of the Aegis ballisticmissile defense system off Hawaii. The agency said Tuesday that the target, a short-rangeballistic missile, will be fired Thursday from the PacificMissile Range Facility on Kauai. The USS Hopper will track the target and then fire andguide an SM-3 Block IA missile to intercept the target. Ifall goes well, the three-stage Navy interceptor should hitthe target in the upper atmosphere. Meanwhile, the USS O'Kane will conduct a simulatedengagement and the USS Lake Erie will detect and track thetarget. The agency said the test, dubbed Stellar Avenger, will bethe 23rd firing by ships equipped with the Aegis system. One of the 18 successes involved shooting down a dead U.S. spy satellite in space last year. On Feb. 20, 2008, an SM-3 was launched from the Lake Erienorthwest of Hawaii. The missile's small «kill vehicle» _a non-explosive device at the tip _ maneuvered into thepath of the satellite, and they collided At the time, Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the satellite and thekill vehicle collided at a combined speed of 22,000 mph(35,400 kph) about 130 miles (209 kilometers) above Earth'ssurface. Following the test, the three ships were to participate inan engineering evaluation of a recently installed advancedversion of the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) weaponsystem. The test will mark the first time the Lake Erie will usethe new system during a live firing to evaluate firecontrol functions, including the launch of a simulated SM-3Block IB missile. In late 2010, the ship is slated to usethe advanced system to actually fire a new SM-3 Block IB. «This advanced Aegis BMD system will improve theprobability of kill against advanced threats,» the MissileDefense Agency said in a news release quoted by The Associated Press.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/688509