orbit. The launching vessel was , and one SM-3 missile was used. Interception was at an altitude of 133 nautical miles (247 kilometers). Target for simulating endo-atmospheric flight of DF-21 ASBM According to a Congressional Research Service report dated July 31, 2014, the lack of a test target simulating the Chinese DF-21 ASBM is highlighted. A threat representative Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) target for operational open-air testing has become an immediate test resource need. China is fielding the DF-21D ASBM, which threatens U.S. and allied surface warships in the Western Pacific. While the Missile Defense Agency has exo-atmospheric targets in development, no program currently exists for an endo-atmospheric target. The endo-atmospheric ASBM target is the Navy’s responsibility, but it is not currently budgeted. The Missile Defense Agency estimates the non-recurring expense to develop the exo-atmospheric target was $30 million with each target costing an additional $30 million; the endo-atmospheric target will be more expensive to produce according to missile defense analysts. Numerous Navy acquisition programs will require an ASBM surrogate in the coming years, although a limited number of targets (3-5) may be sufficient to validate analytical models The December 2012 report from DOT&E (i.e., DOT&E's annual report for FY2012) did not further discuss this issue; a January 21, 2013, press report stated that this is because the details of the issue are classified. The U.S. arsenal has a "variety of potential countermeasures" and the "kill chain" of for example a potential DF-21D attack would be so "complicated" that it would provide a "number of opportunities to defeat the attack". He also stated that unless one country integrates an "entire system of systems" to make this work, the missile itself would be pretty "useless". “Some countries might buy them just to impress their neighbors, but their combat effectiveness would be negligible unless the country also invested in the needed detection, data processing, and communications systems". - Roger Cliff A December 16, 2016, press report states the following: The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said its new Sea Based Terminal (SBT) system achieved its second ballistic missile intercept during a Dec. 14 test over the Pacific Ocean. During the test, the USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53)... fired a salvo of two Raytheon [RTN] Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) interceptors in immediate succession against a medium-range ballistic missile target launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii. The first interceptor was not armed