The Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) launches a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) during a live-fire test of the ship’s aegis weapons system on June 19, 2014. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information from the Navy.
The Navy’s surface ship weapons office is developing software to bring additional mission sets to the Standard Missile-6 surface-to-air missile, which may be ready for fielding in the next year or two. Read More
A Lockheed Martin concept for variations of the Freedom-class LCS design from corvette to Frigate sized hulls. Lockheed Martin Photo
Saudi Arabia is leaning toward buying a variant of the Lockheed Martin Littoral Combat Ship as a key component of a long-awaited multi-billion dollar refresh of its Eastern Fleet in a deal that could close as early as year’s end, according to press reports confirmed by USNI News. Read More
The guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) sits moored in Rota, Spain on June 9, 2015. US Navy photo.
The four ballistic missile defense destroyers patrolling 6th Fleet will get a self-protection upgrade beginning this year, as the Navy integrates Raytheon’s Sea Rolling Airframe Missile (SeaRAM) onto its Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (DDG-51) for the first time. Read More
The resulting fire on USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) following the explosion of a SM-2 Block IIIA guided missile. US Navy Photo obtained by USNI News
The guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) suffered only cosmetic damage following the unexpected explosion of a SM-2 missile shortly after launch on July 18, Navy officials told USNI News on Thursday. Read More
A Tomahawk cruise missile hits a moving maritime target Jan. 27 after being launched from the USS Kidd (DDG-100) near San Nicolas Island in California. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Raytheon’s Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) will be a likely competitor in the Navy’s search for a next generation anti-ship missile to replace the 1980s era weapons widely in use in the service, the deputy chief of naval operations warfare systems (N9) said Wednesday. Read More
Anti-Submarine Warfare Package. Government Accountability Office Graphic
The Navy’s quest to cut weight from the planned Littoral Combat Ship anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission package is neither the result of weight gain in the planned systems nor a new requirement of the program, Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News. Read More
A Raytheon SM-6 launched from an Aegis guided missile destroyer. US Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy and the Missile Defense Agency has proved a modified Raytheon Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) missile can not only tackle cruise missiles and aircraft threats but also inbound ballistic missiles. Read More
The littoral combat ships USS Independence (LCS 2), back, and USS Coronado (LCS 4) are underway in the Pacific Ocean in April 2014. US Navy photo.
The Littoral Combat Ship’s anti-submarine warfare mission package needs to shed some weight before it can deploy on a ship, and the Navy awarded three contracts to help find weight-reduction ideas. Read More
A Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) launches from the aft Vertical Launching System (VLS) aboard destroyer USS O’Kane (DDG-77) in 2006. US Navy Photo
This post was updated to include the current location of USS The Sullivans (DDG-68).
The Navy has restricted the use of an unspecified number of SM-2 guided missiles following a launch failure on July 18 that damaged destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), Naval Sea Systems Command officials told USNI News. Read More
The resulting fire on USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) following the explosion of a Raytheon SM-2 Block IIIA guided missile. US Navy Photo obtained by USNI News
This post has been updated with additional information from NAVSEA.
A Navy guided missile destroyer was damaged after a missile exploded shortly after launch during an exercise off the U.S. Atlantic coast on Saturday, Navy officials have confirmed to USNI News. Read More
