Australia intercepts a cruise-missile target with a ground-launched SM-2, pairing a local radar with the US Aegis system for the first time
Australia has fired a Standard Missile-2 from a prototype ground-based launcher at the Woomera test range and destroyed a cruise-missile target. An Australian-built CEA Technologies radar fed data straight into the US Navy Aegis combat system, the first time that pairing has been flown. Defence framed the step as risk reduction ahead of any acquisition decision.
Australia's Department of Defence has confirmed a landmark live-fire: a prototype ground-based air-defence system fired a Standard Missile-2 at the Woomera range in South Australia during Exercise Taipan Strike 26 and intercepted a cruise-missile target in flight. The first-of-type element is the integration of an Australian-built CEA Technologies radar with the US Navy Aegis combat system, which guided the missile. Ground-based Aegis lets a nation defend fixed sites like ports, airfields and command hubs without committing a warship, a potentially cheaper and more flexible option for scattered bases across the Indo-Pacific. Defence stressed the shot was a risk-reduction prototype, not a finished weapon, ahead of a future acquisition decision. Sources: Australian Department of Defence, Janes, Defence Blog, Army Recognition.