According to information published by Yonhap on April 26, 2022, South Korea approved a project worth 760 billion won (US$606 million) to purchase Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) shipborne missile interceptors, amid North Korea's evolving missile threats.
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Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones launches a RIM-174 Standard ERAM or SM-6 (Picture source: U.S. Navy)
The RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), or Standard Missile 6 (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 an 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 SM-6 missile has a length of 6.6m and a diameter of 0.5m. It weighs 1,500 kg and carries a 64 kg blast fragmentation warhead. The interceptor uses semi-active homing and active homing guidance to achieve accurate engagement of the assigned targets.
