The U.S. successfully tested an upgraded version of its Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) system on Wednesday, increasing the system’s capabilities against “sophisticated” medium range ballistic missiles (MRBMs).

Both the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the BMD’s manufacturer Raytheon issued press releases on the test, with Raytheon saying it had developed the upgrades far more quickly than usual.

The system used the Standard Missile – 6 (SM6) to strike a test projectile in what the Pentagon called a “complex missile defense flight test” near Hawaii.

“Earlier this year, our customer requested an enhanced capability to deal with a sophisticated