SM-6 Block 1A missile completes final land-based test

The US Navy (USN) has successfully completed a third and final land-based flight test of the new Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) Block IA Extended Range Active Missile, paving the way for at-sea testing to start later this year.

Developed and manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems, the SM-6 missile is an evolutionary development that marries the propulsion, airframe, and warhead of the SM-2 Block IV missile with the active radar seeker of the AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile to provide an extended-range AAW (Anti-Air Warfare) capability over sea and overland.

Designed to be employed from Aegis cruisers and destroyers, the SM-6 missile has been conceived as the effector for the Naval Integrated Fire Control - Counter Air (NIFC-CA) over-the-horizon AAW network.

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