US Navy warships fired SM-3s to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles last weekend. AdvertisementUS Navy warships used a missile interceptor for the first time in combat over the weekend as they defended Israel from an unprecedented Iranian attack. AdvertisementA developmental Standard Missile-3, designed to intercept short to medium-ranged ballistic missile threats, is launched from the Pearl Harbor-based Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie. There are multiple SM-3 variants, which can be fired from a Navy warship's vertical launching system, and the Block I interceptors were first fielded nearly 20 years ago. US Central Command said American forces, specifically, destroyed more than 80 drones and at least six ballistic missiles.

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Persons: Navy Carlos Del Toro, —, Del Toro, Arleigh Burke, Carney, Del Toro's, Thomas Hudner, Kerri Kline, CENTCOM, Iran's Organizations: Navy, Service, Aegis, Getty, Combat, for Strategic, International Studies, Missile Defense, US Navy, Mass Communications, Central Command, American Locations: Israel, American, Tehran, Iran, Lake Erie, East