U.S. Navy tests Raytheon's SeaRAM system

TUCSON, May 17 (UPI) -- Raytheon reports that its SeaRAM anti-ship missile defense system has successfully completed test shots in U.S. Navy testing.

In the testing, the system took out several targets in a variety of scenarios, including one in which two supersonic missiles were inbound simultaneously, flying in complex, evasive maneuvers. The targets were intercepted with Rolling Airframe Block 2 missiles.

"SeaRAM achieved a new level of success, intercepting targets under high-stress conditions," said Rick Nelson, vice president of Raytheon's Naval and Area Mission Defense product line. "The system demonstrated once again that it can provide the sophisticated protection warfighters need."

The tests were conducted on the Navy's Self Defense Test Ship off the coast of Southern California.

SeaRAM is the development of key attributes of the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System and the Rolling Airframe Missile Guided Weapon System, replacing the 20mm Phalanx gun system with an 11-missile RAM launcher assembly. It combines RAM's superior accuracy, extended range and high maneuverability with the Phalanx Block 1B's high-resolution search-and-track sensor systems and quick-response capability against close-in and extended range threats.