On 02 October 2023, the Commander, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet announced that the U.S. Navy’s first Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyer, Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), successfully launched an SM-2 missile.
Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) has conducted the SM-2 missile firing in her commissioning week, as she is scheduled to be commissioned on Saturday. The test-firing is defined as an important milestone for the first Flight III destroyer, though there is still more work to be done.
“In advance of her commissioning, PEO Ships, PEO IWS, Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast, the Aegis Test Team, and Ingalls Shipbuilding worked alongside the DDG 125 crew to demonstrate the new AEGIS Baseline 10 and Air and Missile Defense Radar capability.”
Commander, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet on Linkedin
The future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) departed HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division on September 26, 2023, for the last time. The commissioning ceremony will be conducted on Oct. 7, 2023, in Tampa, Florida, before sailing to her homeport in San Diego.
Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers incorporate a number of design modifications that collectively provide significantly enhanced capability. DDG 125 includes the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and the Aegis Baseline 10 Combat System which are designed to keep pace with the threats well into the 21st century.
The future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) is the first of the Flight III variant and 75th overall in the class. She is named after Captain Jacklyn H. Lucas, recipient of the Medal of Honor. Jack H. Lucas was launched 4 June 2021 and christened on 26 March 2022.
About SM-2 missile
Standard Missile 2 (SM–2) is a ship-launched air defense missile manufactured by Raytheon Missiles & Defense. It is a surface-to-air defence weapon with fleet area air defence and ship self defence as its primary mission. It has also demonstrated an extended area air defence projection capability and has a secondary mission as an anti-surface ship missile.
With a range of 90 nautical miles and an altitude of 65,000 feet, the SM-2 is an integral part of layered defense that protects naval assets, giving warfighters greater operational flexibility.
The SM-2 is a solid propellant-fueled, tail-controlled, surface-to-air missile fired by surface ships. Designed to counter high-speed, high-altitude anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) in an advanced ECM environment, its primary mode of target engagement uses mid-course guidance with radar illumination of the target by the ship for missile homing during the terminal phase. The SM-2 can also be used against surface targets.
The currently deployed SM-2 derived from the SM-1 (RIM-GGB), which is still in the fleet. The SM-2 employs an electronic countermeasures-resistant monopulse receiver for semi-active radar terminal guidance and inertial midcourse guidance capable of receiving midcourse command updates from the shipboard fire control system. The SM-2 is launched from the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) and the Mk 26 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS). To counter expanding threat capabilities, the SM-2 continues to evolve and improve in advanced high and low-altitude threat interception. Specifically, the SM-2 is being improved to counter electronic countermeasures (ECM) through modular changes to the missile sections.
Variants:
- SM-2 Block II is a variant of the missile that can be fired from Aegis rail launchers, Aegis vertical launch systems, and Tartar rail launchers. SM-2 Block III has improved capability against low altitude targets.
- SM-2 Block IIIA increases SM-2 capabilities at even lower altitudes than Block III and includes a new warhead that enhances the velocity of warhead fragments moving in the direction of the target.
- SM-2 Block IIIB The medium range SM-2 Block IIIB incorporates an infrared guidance mode capability developed with the radio frequency semi-active guidance system of the Block IIIA. Called the Missile Homing Improvement Program (MHIP), the dual radio frequency and infrared guidance mode is being incorporated to counter specific proliferating electronic warfare systems in existing aircraft and anti-ship cruise missile threats.
- SM-2 Block IV is an extended range variant that is launched vertically and has a longer range than the Block II, III, IIIA, and IIIB variants. The Block IV has improved cross-range and higher altitude capability for Aegis vertical launch ships and improved performance against low targets and complex ECM.
Key Data (based on Block IV variant)
- Dimensions: Length – 6.55m (4.72m other variants), Diameter – 34.3 cm, Wingspan – 1.08m
- Range: 185-370 km (90 NM or 166km at base version)
- Min/Max Altitude: 1,000 m / 33,000 m (~19km or 65k ft at base version)
- MK72 Solid Rocket Booster (1st stage), MK104 Dual Thrust Rocket Motor (2nd stage)
- IOC 1995
