Australia - HMAS Sydney fires SM-6 missiles

The destroyer "Sydney", the third and final unit of the Australian Hobart class (147 metres, 6,300 tonnes), which was further developed from the Spanish F100 Alvaro de Bazán frigate and commissioned in 2020, is "one of a kind". In addition to two quadruple Harpoon missile launchers, the "Sydney" has a mix of Standard Missile 2 and ESSM-Seasparrow-FK as an air defence destroyer in the 48-cell vertical launch silo - just like her sister ships. However, she is the only one to date to have recently been additionally equipped in the silo with SM-6 missiles (including improved range) and on the upper deck with two quad canisters of Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM). During RIMPAC 2024, it fired an NSM for the first time and fired an SM-6 in the subsequent Pacific Dragon exercise in Hawaiian waters. Australia is committed to a strategic alliance with the USA and the UK (AUKUS submarine construction programme) and is seeking close operational ties with the US Navy. And it does not do things by halves when it comes to assertive armament! HMAS Sydney is still a single ship - but a pioneering one.