US Army “Ground-Fires” Navy SM-6 & Tomahawk Missiles

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

The Army is ground-firing combat-tested Navy SM-6 and Tomahawk attack weapons in close coordination with the Navy as a critical way to massively expand the service’s ground-attack envelope, mission capabilities and Concepts of Operation.

The development, which has been underway in recent months through the Army’s “Typhon” missile system, has involved prototyping, test-firing and technological adaptations of the SM-6 interceptor and Tomahawk cruise missile.

“It’s about outranging the enemy” is a key strategic mandate used by Senior Army officials telling Warrior about the importance of its weapons programs being tested and developed for the Long Range Precision Fires modernization effort. LRPF is one of the Army’s critical top six modernization priorities.

Army test-firings have been successful as recently at June 2023, when the Army’s Rapid Capabilities And Critical Technologies Office Mid-Range Capability Prjoject Office collaborated with the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force and the Navy’s PEO Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons unit. 

SMRF Driven By Threat

A significant Congressional Research Service report from July 2023 called “The U.S. Army’s Strategic Mid-Range Fires (SMRF) System (Formerly Mid-Range Capabilities [MRC] System),” details the threat equation driving the US Army enhancement.

“Reported improvements to Russian and Chinese artillery systems present a challenge to the U.S. Army. These improved, longer-ranged artillery systems, new employment techniques employing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for target acquisition, and the proliferation of special munitions (such as precision, thermobaric, loitering, and top-attack munitions) have renewed concerns about the potential impact of Russian and Chinese artillery on U.S. combat operations and ground combat systems,” the CRS report says.