Japan's Defense Ministry says the Maritime Self-Defense Force has successfully conducted its first test-firing of a new interceptor missile from one of its Aegis-equipped destroyers.

The ministry announced on Monday that a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor missile was fired from its destroyer Maya off Hawaii on November 15, local time.
It said an intermediate-range ballistic missile target launched from a US military facility was intercepted at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers.

The SM-3 Block IIA missile has been jointly developed by the United States and Japan. It was the first time the interceptor had been launched from an MSDF destroyer.
Six previous tests have been conducted by the US, four of them successful.

The Defense Ministry has spent about 110 billion yen, or nearly 782 million dollars, on the joint development of the missile. The ministry says the missile can cover an expanded altitude and range, making it possible to respond to a ballistic missile fired on a lofted trajectory.

The ministry says four of the eight Aegis destroyers operated by the MSDF are capable of launching the latest interceptor missile. The ministry says it will proceed with the deployment of the missile from this fiscal year.