South Korea’s military authorities have decided to procure SM-3 missiles for the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy’s Aegis destroyers to intercept ballistic missiles.

On November 16 and 19, 2022, the JMSDF Maya-class destroyers conducted two test firings of SM-3 ballistic missile defense (BMD) missiles.

The South Korean National Assembly reportedly allocated 10 billion KRW (~$7.5 million) to introduce SM-3 missiles developed by Raytheon.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, is awarded an $867 million Missile Defense Agency contract to deliver SM-3 Block IIAs to the United States and partners.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced this week its intention to halt deployment of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system citing difficulties in ensuring that rocket boosters from the interceptors do not fall in populated areas. The real reason may actually have to do with the radar system, namely SPY-6 and SPY-7. Yoshihiro Inaba has the story.

Raytheon Company will produce and deliver SM-3® Block IB interceptors under a $2.1 billion, multi-year U.S. Missile Defense Agency contract. It is the first multi-year contract for the SM-3 program, and covers fiscal years 2019–2023.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), U.S. Navy and Raytheon are set to put the SM-3 Block IIA through its paces by testing the interceptor against an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time.

Raytheon Company was awarded a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA contract modification as announced by the U.S. Department of Defense on Dec. 20, 2019.