Australia tests hybrid ground-based SM-2 air defense using Aegis and CEA radar

Australia tested a first-of-type medium-range ground-based air defense prototype that launches SM-2 from a mobile Derringer/Expeditionary Launch System, controlled by a virtualized Aegis combat system and cued by a CEA phased-array radar. The novelty is the cross-domain integration of naval missiles and Aegis C2 into an expeditionary land GBAD package, potentially enabling use of SM-2/SM-6 stocks for flexible, lower-cost air and missile defense.