Targets are destroyed by the equivalent of a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 miles per hour

The Raytheon Company produced Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), part of the Missile Defense Agency’s sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, is designed to defend against short to intermediate range ballistic missile threats during the midcourse phase of flight. The missiles are deployed on Aegis cruisers.

Concept of Operation:

As a ballistic missile threat rises above the horizon, ship’s radar acquires, begins tracking, and the weapon system begins calculating the engagement solution. Upon command from the ship’s weapon system, the SM-3 boosts out of the launcher and establishes radio communication with the ship.

After booster burnout, the Dual Thrust Rocket Motor (DTRM) ignites. In-flight communications from the ship guide the missile toward the predicted intercept point. After DTRM burnout and separation, the Third Stage Rocket Motor (TSRM) ignites, propelling the third stage out of the atmosphere. Throughout its flight, the missile continues to receive in-flight target updates from the ship to refine the intercept guidance solution.

During flyout, the third stage pitches over and ejects the nosecone, exposing the SM-3 Kinetic Warhead (KW). Following TSRM burnout roughly 30 seconds before intercept, the SM-3 KW separates from the third stage and immediately searches for the target based on pointing data received from the ship. The KW’s solid Divert and Attitude Control System precisely maneuvers the KW to enable a hit-to-kill intercept.

Raytheon leads the integrated SM-3 team, which includes Alliant Techsystems, Aerojet and the Boeing Company. The kinetic warhead seeker and final integration occur in Raytheon’s state-of-the-art space manufacturing facility in Tucson. Final assembly and testing of the SM-3 occurs at Raytheon’s Camden, Ark., facility.

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