Australian Navy HMAS Hobart III destroyer has fired RIM-66 Standard Missile 2 during exercice.

HMAS Hobart (III) has become the first Hobart class Guided Missile Destroyer of Australian Navy to fire a missile (RIM-66 Standard Missile 2) in Australian waters. It was a test before the commencement of their Unit Readiness Evaluation (URE).

HMAS Hobart (III) conducts a live-fire exercise using the vertically launched RIM-66 Standard Missile 2 (SM2) (Picture source: Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence)

The missile destroyer ship "HMAS Hobart" of the Australian Navy has conducted sea trials on ships systems, a vital step to prove recent upgrades to the ship’s Aegis combat system and prepare the ship’s company for their upcoming and Task Group deployment.

A mix of senior officers, APS personnel and industry representatives from across shipbuilding projects joined the ship to familiarise themselves with the capability of the Air Warfare Destroyer and its integration with future technologies.

The weapons of the Hobart-class destroyer includes an Mk41 Vertical Launch System containing SM-2 Standard Missile and Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, an Mk45 5-inch main gun, Phalanx Close-In Weapons System, two 25mm Typhoon guns, and MU90 and Mk54 light-weight torpedoes for subsurface defence.

The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, originally developed for the United States Navy (USN). The SM-2MR introduced inertial and command mid-course guidance. The missile's autopilot is programmed to fly the most efficient path to the target and can receive course corrections from the ground.

The first of three Hobart Class warships, HMAS Hobart is based at Garden Island in Sydney and will deploy for the first time next month as the lead ship in a task group deployment.