The US Navy deploys the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, a component of the Aegis Combat System that is described as one of the world’s most advanced, aboard its guided missile destroyers.

The Aegis BMD system is a US Department of Defense program operated by the Missile Defense Agency developed to provide missile defense against short and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

The Navy's BMD-capable Arleigh Burke-class destroyers defend against short- and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats by leveraging a combination of advanced sensors, missile interceptors and communication networks.

The destroyers are equipped with Standard Missile (SM) variants, which counter a variety of aerial threats. The missiles, launched from the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), receive in-flight target updates via the ship’s advanced fire control radar.

They include the RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3), the RIM-156 Standard Extended Range Block IV (SM-2ER Block IV) and the RIM-174 Standard ERAM (SM-6).

The SM-3 conducts exo-atmospheric intercepts, kinetically engaging ballistic missiles during the midcourse phase of flight.

The most advanced version, the SM-3 Block IIA, is capable of defeating ICBMs and has broadened the key role the US Navy plays in homeland defense by building in further protective layers in a multilayered aerial defense system.

The SM-2ER Block IV variant is designed for terminal-phase, endo-atmospheric intercepts. It features a blast fragmentation warhead and is capable of striking within the atmosphere in the final seconds of a missile’s descent.

Its airframe was used to create the SM-6, which adds an active radar seeker to guide the missile to its target and is capable of countering both hostile aircraft and cruise missiles and provide terminal ballistic missile defense.

Countering next-generation threats

During exercise Formidable Shield in May, the USS Thomas Hudner, a Flight IIA subclass of the Arleigh Burke class, successfully engaged a medium-range ballistic missile with an SM-3 missile.

These destroyers are integrated into broader missile defense architecture via their compatibility with Link 16, a secure data link that provides real time communications and connects the Aegis system to ground-based systems like THAAD and Patriot batteries.

This connectivity between militaries and systems ensures rapid detection, coordination and communication across even the most dispersed platforms.

The US Navy is preparing to counter the next generation of threats with the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI), which is designed to engage hypersonic weapons during their vulnerable glide phase.

GPI will be integrated with the modified Aegis Baseline 9 Combat System, and will bolster the Navy’s ability to defend against highly maneuverable, high-speed weapons.

These systems and the dozens of missile destroyers in the US Navy's arsenal form a maritime shield, providing US and allied forces with a robust defense against a broad array of missile threats.