RIM-174 Standard Missile 6 (SM-6)
| Type: | Ship-launched air defense missile |
| Guidance: | Dual-mode seeking (active/semi-active) |
| Propellant: | Two-stage solid booster/sustainer |
| Altitude: | 108,000 feet (33,000m) |
| Range: | 150 miles (240km) |
| Speed: | Mach 3.5 (1,032m/s) |
| Length: | 21.5 feet (6.55m) |
| Weight: | 3,300 pounds (1,500kg) |
| First Launch: | June 2008 |
The RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), or Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), is a two-stage solid-fuel missile system intended to provide ship-launched air defense. Significant modular improvements in its onboard guidance, ordnance, battery power, and telemetry over the SM-2 employ both the Mark 72 Thrust Vector Actuation (TVA) booster and Mark 104 Dual-Thrust Rocket Motor (DTRM). These improvements provide a significant increase in performance that enables the SM-6 to successfully defeat air-breathing threats and terminal-phase ballistic missiles. Further improvements to the guidance software allow the SM-6 to function in an offensive strike role as an anti-ship and land-attack missile.
Upgrades to Standard Missiles, called Blocks, typically include incremental changes and improvements made while retaining core systems. This reduces the number of alterations made to support and service hardware, command and control functions, and even physical size and weight utilization, all of which are crucial on Naval combatants. The SM-6 has two primary variants, designated Block I, Block IA, and in 2028 will introduce the Block IAU.
In addition to the Blocks of upgrades, the SM-6 has also been configured for use in other roles. One variant, the AIM-174B “Gunslinger,” was developed as a long-range air-to-air missile carried on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. An Army mobile launching system, called the “Typhon,” is a RIM-174B SM-6 Block IA adapted for use to fulfill its Mid-Range Capability (MRC) requirement, part of its long-range precision fires concept.
