Hello, Kim Jong Il? Take Note...

In what was no doubt intended to be a signal to North Korea, the Japanese military successfully destroyed a mid-range ballistic missile with a ship-launched interceptor Monday.

The test marks the first time a US-ally has conducted such a test on its own, using a missile launched from sea. The killer missile was launched from the JS Kongo, according to officials with Raytheon, which built the SM-3 Block IA interceptor.

"Today's intercept truly paves the way for Japan to deploy a sea-based ballistic missile defense system," said Ed Miyashiro, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president. "The US has gained an important ally that can now defend itself against the threat of ballistic missiles."

Though it was left unsaid in official releases, that threat comes from Japan's less-than-friendly neighbors -- North Korea in particular, and to a lesser extent, China. Tokyo has invested heavily in missile-defense technology, since North Korea nearly sparked an international incident by firing a long-range missile over northern Japan in 1998.

As ANN reported, North Korea furthered international tensions when it launched seven missiles during a series of "tests" in July 2006.

Japan is also working with Raytheon and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to develop and deploy the next-generation SM-3 Block IIA missile, which will provide a larger area of defense against more sophisticated threats.

During Monday's test, the Japanese crew exchanged track information via satellite with USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser based at Pearl Harbor. The Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, run by the US Navy, fired the target missile -- which experts said resembled the Rodong missile used by North Korea, and not the longer-range Taepodong missile used in 1998.

The test was the 12th successful intercept for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system's SM-3, which detected the warhead after it separated from the booster missile.

FMI: www.raytheon.com, www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/index.html