The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) carried out a multiple engagement test in the vicinity of Wake Island on Nov. 1 and the plan was to have a SM-3 Block IB intercept an extended Medium Range Ballistic Missile (eMRBM) in the midcourse phase with a THAAD interceptor as a backup.
The SM-3 missile however failed shortly after launch from USS John Paul Jones but the THAAD interceptor was able to finish the job and intercepted the target in its terminal defense role.
Despite the SM-3 failure, USS John Paul Jones carried on and destroyed a BQM-74E air-breathing target with a SM-2 Block IIIA in the same engagement.