Combat debut? US Navy’s SM-3 rumored to have struck Iran’s missiles
If true, this would be a major milestone for the system that forms the brunt of the U.S. Navy’s Aegis defense system.
Raytheon’s (an RTX subsidiary) Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), a missile defense interceptor, may have made its combat debut during the recent Iranian missile barrage in Israel on Sunday (April 14). If true, this would be a major milestone for the missile system and a real confidence booster for the U.S. Navy and Raytheon.
While not officially confirmed, military assets from the United States, United Kingdom, and France were involved in the impromptu aerial defense of Israel. This included deployed U.S. Navy warships with Raytheon’s SM-3 and SM-6 missile systems.
At present, the U.S. Navy has a pair of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the region that are known to have been employed in the defense of Israeli airspace. This operation included the use of domestic Israeli defense assets, too, of course.
All-in-all, according to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), somewhere in the region, 350 Iranian missiles and drones were launched against Israel during the operation. Of these, around 99% were intercepted and destroyed, with only around seven incoming drones and missiles penetrating Israeli and allied defenses.
SM-3 to the rescue
Most of the intercepts occurred outside of Israel’s airspace. The total amount of explosives thrown at Israel has been estimated to be around 60 tons.
Also according to the IDF, Iran launched around 120 ballistic missiles, 30 cruise missiles, and 170 drones in their aerial attack. These missiles and drones were launched from various sites, including from inside Iran, Iraq, and Yemen.
According to CNN, the United States Navy destroyed at least three ballistic missiles using its Aegis missile defense system. The USS Carney knocked out three missiles, while its sister (and class lead), the USS Arleigh Burke, killed at least one more, reports Fox News. If the reports are correct, that would be a total of four.
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMD) consists of a network of sea, shore, and orbital assets, such as Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and satellites. These assets are present in various onshore facilities, including in countries like Romania and Poland.
The SM-3 spearheads this system’s business end, and the newer SM-6 missiles are also vital parts of the defensive umbrella Aegis provides. SM-3 is designed to intercept and kill incoming threats outside the Earth’s atmosphere, while the SM-6 engages and kills more novel threats, like hypersonic missiles, closer to the ground during their terminal approach phase.
SM-6 may have also played a part
It is unclear if the SM-6 also made an appearance during yesterday’s attack, but it has reportedly been used “in anger” to defend shipping lanes in the Red Sea recently.
The SM-3 has been extensively tested over the years, but if it had been employed yesterday, this would have been a major development for the missile system. Especially, if it has been more-or-less 100% effective.
At this point, the incoming threats that were countered are somewhat of a guessing game. As The War Zone points out, targets probably included Iranian Emad medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM).
Other targets may have also included Iran’s new Kheiber Shekan MRBMs and older Ghadr-110 MRBMs. It is important to note that Israel wasn’t completely reliant on its allies, however.
Its domestically produced Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile interceptors and Iron Dome system were also heavily involved in defending its airspace.
Whatever the case may be, yesterday’s events were exactly the kind of scenario the Aegis BMD system was designed for. As such, its effectiveness in real combat is very real proof of just how vital such systems are in real combat situations.
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