SM-6 Block IAU long-range air defence missile launched off an AEGIS destroyer successfully hit a hypersonic target boosted by an air-dropped MRBM target.
In the test, an air-dropped MRBM target carrying the HTV-1 hypersonic target was dropped by a C-17 cargo aircraft. After the boost phase, HTV-1 separated from the MRBM target. HTV-1 was developed to represent various hypersonic threats with flight profile settings.
An SM-6 Block IAU long-range air defence missile launched from the Arleigh Burke Flight IIA destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91) with support from the AEGIS Baseline 9 combat system successfully intercepted the target.
SM-6 is the latest line of long-range air defence missiles for the U.S. Navy with dual-use capability, following the footsteps of SM-2 with major improvements in guidance like data link and active RF seeker. The missile has been tested against air-breathing targets, ballistic missiles, and surface targets (as alternative use).
