U.S. Navy ships Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), USS Mason (DDG 87), along with Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS San Jacinto (CG 56) and USS Monterey (CG 61) launched multiple Standard Missiles 2 (SM-2) at twice the speed of sound to destroy an advanced high-speed target during a live fire test of the ships’ Aegis weapons system.

The live fire event was conducted during the EISENHOWER Strike Group Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), the final certification event before deployment.

As the world’s premier fleet-area air defense weapon, SM-2 is an integral part of the layered defense that protects the world’s naval assets and gives warfighters a greater reach in the battlespace. SM-2 variants have successfully intercepted targets and are lethal against subsonic, supersonic, low- and high-altitude, high-maneuvering, diving, sea-skimming, anti-ship cruise missiles fighters, bombers and helicopters in an advanced electronic countermeasures environment.