The day after North Korea launched an IRBM over Japan, the US Missile Defense Agency announced it had successfully carried out a test of the Aegis-based component of the missile defense system.

A simulated ballistic missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii. As it began its descent it was intercepted by a Standard 6 missile fired from the USS John Paul Jones. The Standard-6 is launched from a vertical launch canister and has an unclassified speed of Mach 3.5. According to reports:

The principal objective of the launch was test to a new targeting software designed to enable the SM-6 to intercept a ballistic missile warhead descending from the upper atmosphere at extreme speed.

This makes the third time a Standard-6 has successfully a missile on terminal trajectory out of three tries with progressively more advanced targets.

An Aegis-based BMD component adds another layer of protection and, when dealing with a smallish nation like North Korea, it gives an excellent chance of interception during boost phase.

Now, as promised, Missile Pr0n:

How it all works: