According to a tweet published by the U.S. Department of Defense on September 3, 2021, the U.S. Navy deployed RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM) on Unmanned Surface Vessel Ranger.
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Unmanned surface vessel Ranger deploying SM-6 missiles (Picture source: U.S Department of Defense)
SM-6 is a missile in current production for the United States Navy. It was designed for extended range anti-air warfare (ER-AAW) purposes providing capability against fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-ship cruise missiles in flight, both over sea and land, and terminal ballistic missile defense. It can also be used as a high speed anti-ship missile.
The Standard ERAM is a two-stage missile with a booster stage and a second stage. It is similar in appearance to the RIM-156A Standard missile. The missile may be employed in a number of modes: inertial guided to target with terminal acquisition using active radar seeker, semi-active radar homing all the way, or an over the horizon shot with Cooperative Engagement Capability. The missile is also capable of terminal ballistic missile defense as a supplement to the Standard Missile 3 (RIM-161).
Estimates of the SM-6's range vary; its official published range is 130 nmi (150 mi; 240 km), but it could be anywhere from 200 nmi (230 mi; 370 km) to as much as 250 nmi (290 mi; 460 km).
The USV Ranger is the first Ghost Fleet Overlord vessel.
Ghost Fleet Overlord is a fleet of test unmanned surface vehicles operated by the U.S. Navy and developed by the Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office. It's a partnership between the Defense Department's Strategic Capabilities Office and the Navy.
