The crew of USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launched a Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) missile off the coast of Virginia, April 26.

The ship was at sea conducting a post-availability SM-2 (PASM) missile-firing event as part of their post Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) availability shakedown.

"A lot of work and effort went into getting the ship to this point, and my ship and crew were ready," said Cmdr. Tom Myers, Arleigh Burke commanding officer. "We could not have gotten where we are today without the dedication and commitment of the maintenance community and our Aegis Modernization Team. Their support was truly outstanding during all phases of the planning and preparation, readiness reviews, shipboard training and event execution."

Myers went on to say the PASM event was completed with exceptional results due to the tremendous team effort by all involved.

Arleigh Burke recently completed a complex, year-long maintenance period in which the ship's combat systems suite was upgraded to the Navy's latest Aegis Baseline 9 system. The ship is scheduled to start combat systems ship qualification trials in May.

For more news from Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/.