Navy SM-2 Missiles Destroy Targets – Atlantic

By Kris Osborn

As part of a pre-deployment effort to ensure the weapons could shoot down incoming enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and drones, among other things.

“The live-fire exercise was part of the strike group’s final preparation for the Composite Training Unit Exercise that certifies all strike groups prior to deployment. It demonstrated our continued commitment to train for today’s warfighting environment,” Navy spokeswoman Lt. Kara Yingling told Scout Warrior.

The live-fire exercise used four destroyers and two cruisers shoot SM-2 missiles out of the ships’ Vertical Launch Systems at approaching targets in the sky. The missiles used ship-based radar and fire control technologies to coordinate the firings.

All six ships scored kills as measured by the missile and target instrumentation, including two direct hits. This demonstrates a successful ramp-up in an era of continued complexity and tactical relevance in the employment of the Aegis weapons system against high-end threats, a Navy statement said.

The live-fire test also drew from tactics and procedures known as “cooperative tracking” wherein ship-based radar and fire control technologies share target information with one another in real time and track targets simultaneously, Navy officials explained.

“SM-2 variants have successfully intercepted targets, proving their lethality against subsonic, supersonic, low- and high-altitude, high-maneuvering, diving, sea-skimming, anti-ship cruise missiles fighters, bombers and helicopters in an advanced electronic countermeasures environment,” a Navy statement said.

In service since the early 80s, SM-2 missiles are about 15-feet long with a 3-foot wingspan. The weapon uses semi-active radar and infrared guidance to track targets; the SM-2 detonates on contact and fires a blast-fragmentation warhead, according to Navy data.