The test off Kauai was the sixth time an intercept test has been launched from a warship equipped with the Aegis ballistic-missile-defense system.
But, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency says it was the first test involving a warhead that had already parted its booster rocket.
The Aegis ballistic-missile-defense system would form a large part of a planned American antimissile defense shield.
All told, the United States is now spending about $9 billion a year on missile defense, the most expensive single weapons program.
(Reuters/AP)