U.S. Destroyer Shoots Down Missile in Test Off Hawai‘i

Big Island Now stock photo.

News sources reported this morning that the U.S. military shot down a medium-range ballistic missile during a test off Hawai‘i, one day after North Korea test-launched a similar missile that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean.

It was reported that the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua‘i launched the target missile late yesterday, Tuesday, Aug. 29.  Navy guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones then tracked the target with radar, firing an interceptor missile that shot it down.

Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves said the Hawai‘i test gives Navy ships enhanced capability to defeat ballistic missiles in their last stage of flight.

The agency will continue to develop ballistic missile technologies to stay ahead of the threat as it evolves in light of ongoing North Korean ballistic missile tests.