The Secretary of the Navy this week admitted the service will need more RTX [RTX] Standard Missile (SM)-3s for regional air and missile defense missions in the wake of recent Middle East naval operations.

“I truly believe that SM-3s will be needed in greater numbers in the future, given the operations that took place in defense of Israel here recently where some were fired, and very effectively. So I think given the future threat in our deterrence mission in the Indo-Pacific, we are going to need more SM-3s in the future,” Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on May 1.

An SM-3 Block IIA was launched from the USS John Finn (DDG-113) on Nov. 16, 2020, as part of FTM-44 to evaluate the feasibility of the SM-3 Block IIA capability to defeat an ICBM threat. (Photo: U.S. Missile Defense Agency)
An SM-3 Block IIA was launched from the USS John Finn (DDG-113) on Nov. 16, 2020, as part of FTM-44 to evaluate the feasibility of the SM-3 Block IIA capability to defeat an ICBM threat. (Photo: U.S. Missile Defense Agency)

Del Toro admitted this when Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) noted the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) FY 2025 budget request cut the number of new SM-3 Block IB missiles, a change from the FY ‘24 budget plans to continue procuring the interceptor through FY 2029. 

He said those SM-3 decisions were made before the Middle East operations.

“In light of the changing operations,” the Del Toro said, “I think we’re going to have to re-look that, in order to add more SM-3s in the future.”

The MDA FY ‘25 budget request includes $406 million to procure 12 SM-3 Block IIA missiles while the agency plans to terminate new production of the SM-3 IB in favor of the Block IIA. The agency also planned to buy 12 more SM-3 IIAs annually for the following four years (Defense Daily, March 14).

Last month, the Secretary said the Navy used almost $1 billion in munitions to intercept drones and missiles in the Red Sea and Middle East to argue in favor of the now-passed supplemental spending bill. The law includes over $2 billion to replenish Navy munitions like various Standard Missile variants (Defense Daily, April 17).

Del Toro also confirmed the first use of SM-3 in combat operations.

The SM-3 is designed to defeat ballistic missiles during the midcourse flight phase outside the atmosphere and is launched from Mk 41 Vertical Launching System cells of Aegis-capable ships or Aegis Ashore sites.