Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System

The Aegis ballistic missile defense system is a United States program designed to provide missile defense against short and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The system is an expansion of the Aegis combat system and uses the Standard Missile 3 mid-course interceptors and the Standard Missile 2 and Standard Missile 6 terminal-phase interceptors to engage potential threats. The system was initially developed in the 1980s as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, but it was not until the 2000s that it achieved significant success, with the first successful intercept occurring in 2002. The system was given major new importance by President Obama in 2009, who announced plans to scrap the plans for a missile defense site in Poland in favor of missile defense systems located on U.S. Navy warships.learn more on wikipedia