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A year ago, there was a step change in the lethality, long-range strike and air and missile defence capability of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), with the RAN conducting first of class firings of the Tomahawk cruise missile and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6).
As a significant provider of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) guided weapons and a strategic partner in the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, Raytheon is proud to celebrate the one-year anniversary of this game-changing capability for Navy.
This anniversary not only marks several firsts for the RAN, it also elevates Australia into a small but significant group of strategic partners. Australia is unique as the only non-US customer to have been authorised to purchase the SM-6 and to have fired a missile. Australia is also only the third country in the world to acquire and fire a Tomahawk cruise missile.
The first in class firing of SM-6 marked an important step forward in Navy’s capabilities, highlighting the speed to capability approach being taken by Navy, Defence and industry to enhance the lethality of the surface fleet.
The SM-6 missile plays a vital role in modern naval warfare and represents decades of innovation in cutting-edge technology and proven performance. With the successful integration of the SM-6 into the RAN’s fleet, the Navy has significantly strengthened its air and missile defence systems.
A new era of naval capability
The SM-6 launched from HMAS Sydney during Exercise Pacific Dragon demonstrated not only the missile’s performance but the government’s approach to rapidly boosting the Navy’s long-range strike and integrated air and missile defence capabilities. The SM-6 firing marks the start of the ADF’s terminal ballistic missile defence capability.
With its flexible multi-mission capabilities, the SM-6 can provide a wide range of operational benefits. Its ability to conduct terminal ballistic missile defence and long-range surface-to-air intercepts allows it to engage airborne threats at all phases of their flight, making it an ideal tool for integrated air and missile defence.
Whether countering anti-ship missiles, ballistic missile threats or providing over-the-horizon anti-air warfare capabilities, the SM-6 is a force multiplier for the RAN.
The evolution of the Standard Missile family
The SM-6 missile is an advanced addition to Raytheon’s Standard Missile family and builds on the proven legacy of the SM-2, a weapon that has been a cornerstone of the RAN’s naval air defence for almost two decades.
The SM-2 leverages advanced designs perfected over decades of spiral development to create the foundation of the modern surface-to- air missiles of today.
The RAN’s SM-2s include semi-active radar homing, inertial guidance systems, data links and solid rocket motors.
Since SM-2’s first integration into the Aegis combat system, the design has advanced through several block upgrades, technology insertions and software updates, ensuring it continues to be the Navy’s premier defence against today’s evolving threats.
With SM-2 IIIC’s active seeker, it will provide increased lethality, manoeuvrability and counter-electronic attack capability. As the latest missiles acquired by the RAN, SM-2 IIIC will continue to provide a critical layer of area self-defence that complements existing RAN capabilities. These missiles will provide comprehensive layered defence against subsonic, supersonic and manoeuvring targets including sea-skimming missiles.
While the SM-2 is renowned for its effectiveness in countering air threats, the SM-6 with the Mark 72 booster provides an expanded defended area against more complex and dynamic threats, including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and other advanced airborne targets.
The continued evolution of the Standard Missile portfolio represents Raytheon’s ongoing commitment to producing and integrating world-class interceptor capabilities.
Proven capabilities for the future
SM-2 and SM-6 are combat proven: news reports from engagements in the Red Sea in 2025 have been widely reported. The US Navy announced in January 2025 it had fired 120 SM-2s and 80 SM-6s, lauding their performance. Numbers have certainly climbed with various conflicts across the globe in the meantime.
With Australia facing the most complex strategic environment since World War Two, including advanced missile threats, the introduction of SM-2 IIIC and SM-6 is a critical step change in capability.
As Raytheon celebrate one year since this important milestone, it remains committed to providing the RAN with advanced, cutting-edge technologies.
