South Korea cleared to buy 38 air defense Standard Missile 6 SM-6 Block I missiles.

On November 14, the U.S. Security Cooperation Agency announced that the State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea of Standard Missile 6 Block I (SM-6 Blk I) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $650 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale.
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The USS Lake Erie launches a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 1B, successfully intercepting a medium-range ballistic missile target near Kauai, Hawaii. (Picture source: Dvids)

The Government of the Republic of Korea has requested to buy up to thirty-eight (38) Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) Block I missiles. Also included are Mk 21 Vertical Launch System (VLS) canisters; obsolescence Engineering, Integration, and Test (EI&T) materiel and support; handling equipment; spares; training and training equipment and aids; technical publications and data; U.S. Government and contractor engineering and technical assistance, including related studies and analysis support; product support; materiel and support for demonstration and interoperability live fire events; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total program cost is $650 million.

The principal contractor will be Raytheon Missiles and Defense (RMD), Tucson, AZ. Implementation of the proposed sale will require U.S. Government and contractor personnel to visit the Republic of Korea on a temporary basis in conjunction with program technical oversight and support requirements, including program and technical reviews, as well as to provide training and maintenance support in country.

RIM-174 Standard ERAM

The RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), or Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), is a missile in current production for the U.S. 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 missile uses the airframe of the earlier SM-2ER Block IV (RIM-156A) missile, adding the active radar homing seeker from the AIM-120C AMRAAM in place of the semi-active seeker of the previous design.

This will improve the capability of the Standard missile against highly agile targets and targets beyond the effective range of the launching vessels' target illumination radars. Initial operating capability was planned for 2013 and was achieved on 27 November 2013.

The SM-6 is not meant to replace the SM-2 series of missiles but will serve alongside and provide extended range and increased firepower. It was approved for export in January 2017.