Raytheon ERAM (SM-6)

The U.S. Navy's RIM-156B SM-2 Block IV A TBMD (Theater Ballistic Missile Defense) missile was cancelled in December 2001. Because the RIM-156B was to have secondary AAW (Anti-Air Warfare) capability, this left a potential gap in the future long-range air defense assets of the Navy. Therefore the ERAM (Extended Range AAW Missile) program to study possible replacements for the SM-2 Block IV A was begun. The result was the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), which is effectively an RIM-156A SM-2 Block IV missile, to which the active radar seeker of the AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM air-to-air missile has been added for terminal guidance. Because of that seeker, the ERAM acronym has since been redefined to mean Extended Range Active Missile.

Image: Raytheon

ERAM (SM-6)

In September 2004, Raytheon finally received a development contract for a 7-year SDD (System Development & Demonstration) phase of the SM-6. As of mid-2005, the first ERAM flight test was planned for late 2007, with LRIP (Low-Rate Initial Production) beginning in 2009 and IOC (Initial Operational Capability) achieved by 2010. No specific data on the SM-6's performance envelope has been published, but since the airframe and propulsion system are identical to the RIM-156A, the specifications are presumably very similar. Raytheon also claims that SM-6 can act as a sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense system.

Specifications

Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Data for SM-6 ERAM (performance data based on RIM-156A):

Main Sources

[1] Raytheon Website
[2] DOD Contract Announcement, 3 September 2004
[3] U.S. Navy: " Vision... Presence... Power, A Program Guide to The U.S. Navy", 2004 Edition

Back to Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4