The US Navy test-fired a Standard Missile (SM)-6 missile from a containerized launch system aboard a littoral combat ship (LCS).
The service didn’t identify the system, but it seemed to be the MK 70 Payload Delivery System.
“USS Savannah (LCS 28) conducted a live-fire demonstration Oct. 24 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean utilizing a containerized launching system that fired an SM-6 missile at a designated target,” the service said.
“The exercise demonstrated the modularity and lethality of littoral combat ships and the ability to successfully integrate a containerized weapons system to engage a surface target. The exercise will inform continued testing, evaluation and integration of containerized weapons systems on afloat platforms.”
MK 70 Launcher
The Lockheed Martin launcher is based on the MK 41 vertical launch system (VLS) installed on the Navy’s guided-missile warships.
It comprises four MK.41 VLS cells in a 12-meter (40-foot) container.
The MK 70 can launch a range of long-range anti-ship and anti-air weapons, such as the SM-6 and a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, with a range of 150 miles (240 kilometers) and 1,200 miles (1,600 kilometers).
Ground-Launch Missile Capability
The launcher is part of the US military’s effort to field a ground-launch long-range precision missile capability following the expiration of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The treaty prohibited signatories from possessing all ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3417 miles).
Sea-based and air-delivered missiles were not covered in the treaty.
The US Army recently conducted the first test launch of a Tomahawk missile from the Mid-Range Capability system, which is a variant of the MK 70.
