US Navy tests RAM Block 2A missile
The US Navy has successfully completed a series of guided flight tests of the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2A short-range, surface-to-air missile, Raytheon announced on 19 June.
The testing, which took place at the Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California, and from the navy’s self-defence test ship off the coast of Southern California, demonstrated the missile’s improved guidance and targeting capabilities.
RAM is a ship self-defence weapon designed to protect ships of all sizes, from 500-ton fast attack craft to 95,000-ton aircraft carriers. The latest software upgrade enhances guidance and the missile’s capability to defeat threats.
Raytheon expects to deliver the RAM Block 2A missile to the navy by the end of the year.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Suppliers await next step in Australia’s mine warfare transition]()
Suppliers await next step in Australia’s mine warfare transition
Australia’s mine countermeasure capability remains in flux as the Huon-class nears retirement, but accelerated investment in autonomous systems is opening a path for industry.
-
![Can the US Navy ask Indo-Pacific allies to do more while training with them less?]()
Can the US Navy ask Indo-Pacific allies to do more while training with them less?
As the Iran War draws US ships and marine corps units away from the Indo-Pacific, curtailed exercises and a temporary carrier gap are exposing tensions between Washington’s demand for more self-reliant allies and the joint training needed to realise that ambition.
-
![How could Rheinmetall’s GMF 140 fit with ongoing programmes in North America?]()
How could Rheinmetall’s GMF 140 fit with ongoing programmes in North America?
With Canada committed to its River-class replacement and the USN pursuing a lower-cost frigate, Rheinmetall will need to demonstrate where the GMF 140 can fill a capability gap in the North American fleet.
-
![Australian industry programme builds pipeline for Virginia-class sustainment]()
Australian industry programme builds pipeline for Virginia-class sustainment
Australian businesses can now bid to support Virginia-class submarine sustainment in Western Australia, as momentum around the Henderson Defence Precinct also builds.
-
![South Korea, Japan and Turkey vie for US shipbuilding access in future frigate contest]()
South Korea, Japan and Turkey vie for US shipbuilding access in future frigate contest
Washington’s search for a foreign-built frigate could hand South Korea, Japan and Turkey a larger prize than a double-hull order: a foothold inside the US shipbuilding industrial base.
