Stated in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, the United States Navy desires funds required to purchase 136 RIM-161D Standard Missile 3 Block IIAs (SM-3IIA) and 540 RIM-174 Standard Missile 6s (SM-6), for a total of 676 Standard Missile series naval interceptors.
The exact budget break down places the 540 SM-6s (exact block/iteration not listed) under direct Navy budgetary authority, with 106 listed in the base FY 2027 request and 434 partitioned into a reconciliation bill. Subsequently, the requisite funding correlates to ~$730 million for the interceptors in the discretionary (base) request, and ~$3.59 billion for the rest located in a reconciliation funding package, placing the total SM-6 buy at $4.33 billion dollars.
In regards to the SM-3 Block IIAs, the exo-atmospheric ballistic missile interceptor falls under the budgetary authority of the Missile Defense Agency, with the interceptors themselves fired off of Aegis Equipped U.S. Navy Vessels via the MK-41 Vertical Launch System. Additionally, out of 136 SM-3IIAs, 114 of the are funded through a reconciliation request on top of the 22 funded in the base request, with a total of $4.2 billion dollars allotted.
In total, the funds requested of all of the Standard Missile series rounds totals to just about $8.5 billion dollars, representing an increase of over $7.3 billion dollars from Fiscal Year 2026, which saw only $1.26 billion allocated. Requested dollar amounts thus fund drastic production increases compared to previous rates, as in FY 2026, only a total of 139 SM-6 rounds were funded along with just 12 SM-3 Block IIAs.
About the SM-6
Designed to augment existing stocks of the late blocks of the SM-2, SM-6 is the Navy’s most advanced anti-air interceptor deployed since 2013, and has been available for export since 2017. Derived from the RIM-156A (SM-2ER Block 4) surface to air missile, the SM-6 utilizes the active homing seeker from the AIM-120C AMRAAM series of air to air missile and can engage a suite of targets including cruise missiles, aircraft, and terminal phase ballistic missiles at ranges of over +370 kilometers, with a secondary capability to engage surface targets.
Demand for SM-6 has been increasing as a growing number SM-6 interceptors have been expended over the Middle East, and as launch platforms have increased in number. SM-6 capable launch platforms include Typhon, also known as the Strategic Mid-range Fires System (SMRF) operated by the United States Army, which has the capability to employ SM-6 in a surface attack mode along side Tomahawk Land Attack cruise missiles. U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets can also field the SM-6 as an air-to-air interceptor designated as the AIM-174B, which places it as one of the longest range air-to-air missiles on the globe.
About the SM-3 Block IIA
SM-3 Block IIA has served as the latest iteration of the SM-3 and stands as the only missile of the family capable of intercepting ICBMs (at a ranges of well over 1000+ kilometers), with the first successful test ICBM interception covered by Naval News. Enhanced capabilities are enabled by a larger 21 inch rocket motor enabling wider areas to be defended, along with an enlarged kill vehicle that increases maneuverability during interception, and further guidance and target discrimination upgrades.
Unlike previous versions, the SM-3 Block IIA was born out of joint effort between RTX and Japan, with SM-3IIA operated by both countries. Earlier SM-3 variants are also employed by South Korea aboard KDX-III batch one Aegis Destroyers, and are stationed at Aegis Ashore locations in Romania and Poland, responsible for defending NATO’s eastern flank. USNI has reported that SM-3s made their combat debut during Operation True Promise in 2024, helping to Intercept Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Isreal, along with usage during the current conflict with Iran.
