First RIM-174 SM-6 missile delivered by Raytheon for IOC in 2013

The United States Navy has received the first RIM-174A Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM) or SM-6 Standard surface-to-air missile from Raytheon's new integration and testing facility in Huntsville, Alabama. This milestone puts the SM-6 missile on track to reach Initial Operating Capability (IOC) this year.

The SM-6 missile is the latest version of the Standard family and will succeed the previous SM-2 missile in providing defense against:

• fixed-wing aircraft
• rotor-wing aircraft
• unmanned aerial vehicles
• cruise missiles
• ballistic missiles in terminal stage

The SM-6 missile uses the RIM-156A SM-2ER Block IV airframe and propulsion, but also incorporates the signal processing and guidance control capabilities from Raytheon's AIM-120C AMRAAM seeker to deliver both active and semi-active guidance modes and advanced fuzing techniques.

The two-stage SM-6 missile has:

• a length of 6.55 m
• a wingspan of 1.57 m
• a diameter of 0.53 m (booster) or 0.34 m
• a weight of 1500 kg
• a maximum speed of mach 3.5
• a ceiling of 33000 m
• a maximum range of 240 km

The Standard missile was developed to replace the RIM-2 Terrier, RIM-8 Talos and RIM-24 Tartar in the US Navy. The Standard missile has gone through many different versions and block improvements, including:

• the RIM-66A SM-1MR Block I
• the RIM-66B SM-1MR Block V
• the RIM-66C SM-2MR Block I
• the RIM-67A SM-1ER Block I
• the RIM-67B SM-2ER Block I

The older RIM-67 has now been phased out because it was not compatible with the Mk 41 vertical launch system. A VLS variant of the RIM-67 was designated the RIM-156.

Another variant of the Standard missile is the RIM-161 SM-3 and designed exclusively to intercept ballistic missiles using hit-to-kill technology.


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