Naval S-300 vs Naval SM

Air defense is one of the most critical features of a modern warship: Planes represent some of the most lethal threats to a ship with modern anti-ship missiles and other guided munitions.

However, ships are some of the most ideal platforms to mount anti-aircraft missiles on, having a lot of power readily available and not being restricted by the same weight and mobility restrictions ground systems have.

The U.S. Navy has the capability to engage aircrafts with the SM-2 Block IV, which has a listed range of 240 km. This missile entered service in 2004, following a lengthy development process for the Mk 72 thrust vectoring booster that gave it a massive boost in range.

Russian ships only reached parity with this capability in 2015, when a version of the 48N6DM missile (adapted from the S-400) was integrated onto the Admiral Nakhimov, which could reach out to 250 km.

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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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