Actually the whole debate was in 1999-2000, and below are some exerpts about the whole deal. Also there is still no real defense against the SunBurn system. The drones that were shot down by the Aegis sytem were the Russian made Zvezda MA-31 missile/drone (bought by the US navy from Russia after Clinton cancelled the US made Vandal/Seasnake). The MA-31 bears no semblance whatsoever to the SunBurn. It is an extreme underperformer (and many US navy people really complained when they were given the MA-31). In many cases even the French Exocet missile is even more capable than that silly drone.
Here is part of an exerpt:According to official U.S. Navy sources, the 1,100-pound Ma-31 does not replicate the massive 9,920-pound Sunburn. According to official U.S. Navy statements, the Ma-31 missile can fly "only 16 miles on the deck" and cannot duplicate the Sunburn's performance of over 50 miles at low level
When the navy was shooting down the MA-31 (at great risk to itself since its range meant that the aircraft launching the drone would also be in range of missiles ....which led to the navy being forced to use unmanned launch vehicles) it was basically shooting fish in a barrel. A Yakhont ripple attack is totally different from tracking and blowing up a MA-31.
Anyway here are the other exerpts: Last July, defense analyst Richard D. Fisher also wrote an evaluation of the Russian-built Sunburn missile being sold to China. Fisher, a former defense analyst for Rep. Chris Cox, R -Calif., now working for a Washington-based think-tank, says the U.S. Navy cannot stop the Sunburn. "The Raduga Moskit (Sunburn) anti-ship missile is perhaps the most lethal anti-ship missile in the world," wrote Fisher in a review of the Chinese navy. "The Moskit combines a Mach 2.5 speed with a very low-level flight pattern that uses violent end maneuvers to throw off defenses. After detecting the Moskit, the U.S. Navy Phalanx point defense system may have only 2.5 seconds to calculate a fire solution -- not enough time before the devastating impact of a 750-lb. warhead." There is evidence supporting Fisher's allegations that the U.S. Navy cannot stop the Sunburn. The only U.S. missile capable of duplicating the Sunburn's blistering low-level performance is the Allied Signal Vandal. Vandal target drones reportedly penetrated U.S. Navy Aegis air defenses during trials. The Vandal program has been canceled by the Clinton administration.