Rear Adm. Greg Huffman, the commander of Joint Task Force-Micronesia, said the test marked a “critical milestone” in that it “confirmed our ability to detect, track, and engage a target missile in flight, increasing our readiness to defend against evolving adversary threats.”

The Aegis Guam System, utilizing an AN/TPY-6 radar to track the target, used a vertical launching system to fire a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA to intercept an air-launched incoming medium-range ballistic missile flying over the ocean near Andersen Air Force Base.

“This is a tremendous group effort and provides a glimpse of how organizations within the Department of Defense have come together to defend our homeland Guam now and in the future,” MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said. “Collectively, we will use this to build upon and validate joint tracking architecture and integrated air and missile defense capabilities for Guam. Thanks to all of those involved, especially the people and government of Guam.”

Guam poses strategic importance to the United States due to its location in the Pacific region. The Pentagon described the island as a “strategic location for sustaining and maintaining United States military presence, deterring adversaries, responding to crises, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

Guam is roughly 9,000 miles from the California coast but only 3,000 miles from mainland China. The Pentagon views China as its “pacing challenge,” and U.S. officials have warned about the need to improve military stockpiles and weaponry to prepare for a possible future conflict with Beijing.