The SM-3 had been tested dozens of times over the past two decades but never saw combat until April, when Navy warships used the interceptor to defend Israel from an unprecedented missile and drone attack launched by Iran.
The US Navy warships that engaged a massive barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles in defense of Israel on Tuesday fired SM-3 interceptors, a weapon that scored its first-ever kill earlier this year.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro later said that the sea service would need to obtain many more SM-3s to counter future threats in the Pacific, like China, which maintains an arsenal of formidable theater missiles.
Tuesday's engagement now marks the second known use of the SM-3 in combat. USNI News first reported the interceptor's involvement on Wednesday.
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