SHIP WEAPONS
SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES
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Y RIM-162D EVOLVED SEA SPARROW MISSILE (ESSM)
BRIEFING: The all-weather, semi-active homing ESSM was
designed as a replacement for RIM- 7 to defeat advanced, highly
maneuverable threats. The ESSM has greater speed, maneuverability and range from its more powerful rocket motor and
tail-controlled airframe. The missile possesses an improved
warhead specifically designed to defeat hardened anti-ship
cruise missiles. A surface-to-surface/anti-low-velocity air
threat capability was introduced for the ESSM in 2007.
In the U.S. Navy, the ESSM is deployed on Arleigh Burke-class DDG Flight IIA destroyers and some Nimitz-class aircraft
carriers. It will be the primary self-defense weapon for DDG
1000-, CVN 78- and LHA 6-class ships. On U.S. Navy ships, it
is fired from the MK 29, MK 41 and MK 57 launchers.
Operational in 2004, and designed and produced through
an international cooperative effort, the ESSM also is considered the primary ship self-defense and local area-defense
weapon of 10 foreign navies.
The Block II version of the ESSM is in engineering and
manufacturing development. The Block II features an active
guidance system in addition to semi-active guidance. IOC is
scheduled for 2020.
LENGTH: ................12feet
DIAMETER: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; 10;inches;(rocket;motor)/8;inches;(guidance;section)
TAILSPAN: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; 21. 5;inches
WEIGHT: ................622pounds
SPEED: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; supersonic;(average)
RANGE: .................;horizon
PROPULSION: . . . . . . . . . . . ; Mk; 134;solid-propellant;rocket;motor
WARHEAD: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; Mk; 139;90-pound;angular;blast-fragmentation;
CONTRACTOR: . . . . . . . . . . ; Raytheon;Missile;Systems
RIM-66C/RIM-156/RIM-161/RIM- 174
STANDARD MISSILE (SM)
BRIEFING: The Standard family of missiles can be used against
missiles, aircraft and ships. The RIM-66C SM- 2 Block III, IIIA
and IIIB MR (medium-range) missiles are the primary air-defense weapons for Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers
and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. The RIM-
156A SM- 2 ER (extended-range) Block IV was designed for the
Aegis Weapon System (AWS) and the Vertical Launching System
to give the battle force greater area anti-air warfare defense
capability against very-high-altitude, large-cross-range and
high-G maneuvering targets. All variants are guided by iner-
tial navigation and midcourse commands from AWS using
semi-active radar or an infrared sensor for terminal homing.
The Block IV is deployed as a terminal-phase ballistic missile
defense interceptor.
The RIM- 161 SM- 3 is a development by the Missile Defense
Agency (MDA) of the SM- 2 ER Block IV, optimized for sea-based
defense against short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles in
midcourse flight. It includes a third rocket stage, a GPS/inertial
guidance system and a Boeing-developed kinetic warhead. Since
2005, the RIM-161B SM- 3 Block 1A — featuring increased reliability and a one-color seeker — has been in production for the
U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The RIM-161C SM- 3 Block 1B includes an advanced, two-color infrared seeker and throttling divert- and attitude-control
system for increased maneuverability against sophisticated
warheads. The Block 1B was deployed aboard the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Lake Erie for a 2010 IOC. The Block 1B was
deployed at the Aegis Ashore site in Romania in 2015. The Block
1B is being enhanced with threat-upgrade software.
The SM- 3 Block II is being developed as a phase of Block IIA
by the United States and Japan and will not become operational.
The SM- 3 Block IIA — planned for a 2018 IOC — has a
21-inch-diameter rocket body, larger rocket motors, a more dis-
criminating seeker and advanced kinetic warhead. The SM- 3 is
or will be deployed on several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and
Ticonderoga-class cruisers, and four Japanese destroyers. The
Block IIA also is deployed to Aegis Ashore land sites in Europe.
In April 2011, Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to
define the concept for the SM- 3 Block IIB, which will provide
an early intercept capability against intermediate- and long-
range ballistic missiles. Development of the SM- 3 Block IIB
was suspended by the Defense Department in 2013 in favor of
shifting funding to other components of the nation’s ballistic
missile defense system.
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RIM-162D EVOLVED SEA SPARROW
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STANDARD MISSILE- 2
