HMAS Sydney has successful fired a Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) off Hawaii inside the US Pacific Missile Range as part of Exercise Pacific Dragon - a multilateral ballistic missile defence (BMD) exercise led by the US Navy. It is the first time that an Australian warship has fired the missile.
SM-6 is an extended range air-defence missile that can also perform terminal phase BMD and anti-surface warfare missions. It's currently in use with the US Army, US Navy, and Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF).
"HMAS Sydney’s first-of-class firings of both Naval Strike Missile and Standard Missile 6 in less than a month demonstrates Navy's ability to deliver on governments direction in support of the strategy of denial. Standard Missile 6 is an extended range-air defence weapon that complements the Standard Missile 2 weapon already in the Royal Australian Navy inventory," the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond said.
Australia's Hobart destroyers class are not thought to be able to perform BMD missions as the installed version of the Aegis Combat System, Aegis Baseline 8 is not BMD capable. However, through Project Sea 4000 Phase 6, each will be fitted with Aegis Baseline 9 which will allow them to perform terminal BMD missions in concert with the SM-6 missile.
SM-6 will be progressively deployed across the Royal Australian Navy’s three Hobart class destroyers and, in the future, the six Hunter class frigates.
The milestone SM-6 firing came less than a month after the ship also fired a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for the first time during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024.
During a Sinking Exercise (SINKEX) that took place as part of RIMPAC 2024, a single NSM fired from Sydney hit the former USS Tarawa (LHA 1), helping to sink the decommissioned amphibious ship.