In a first-of-its-kind joint test with European allies, a U.S. Navy destroyer fired a Raytheon Standard Missile-3 interceptor to down a ballistic-missile target over the North Atlantic Ocean.
In Tuesday’s exercise off Scotland’s Hebrides Islands, ships of the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada and five European allies fired a variety of missiles to simultaneously defeat multiple targets, Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems and the Navy said.
During the test, a short-range Terrier Orion ballistic missile target was launched from the UK’s Hebrides Range. At the same time, two anti-ship cruise missiles were fired at a coalition task group that also included ships and aircraft from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.
Using targeting data from allied warships, the Ross fired a Raytheon-made Standard Missile-3 Block IA and hit the ballistic missile target in space, the company said. In an air-defense role, the USS The Sullivans fired a Standard Missile-2 ship defense missile to destroy a cruise-missile target.
The test marked the first time an SM-3 Block IA or SM-2 were fired on a non-U.S. range, as well as the first intercept of a ballistic missile threat in the European theater, Raytheon said.
Ships of the Dutch and Spanish navies transmitted missile targeting data to the U.S. guided-missile destroyer, another first, the Navy said.
The event was “historic” for its multinational scale and “reflective of Europe’s commitment to the NATO ballistic missile defense mission,” Raytheon Missile Systems President Taylor Lawrence said in prepared remarks.
Navy Vice Adm. James Foggo, commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, said in a prepared statement that the test “shows that with communication, collaboration and commitment, nations can come together and flawlessly defend against a complex threat scenario.”
The SM-3, which destroys its targets by sheer impact, is deployed on U.S. Navy ships in Europe’s coastal waters.
The first land-based SM-3 site, known as Aegis Ashore, is scheduled to become operational later this year in Romania, Raytheon said.
