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160315-N-ZZ999-073

160315-N-DQ503-073 ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 15, 2016) – A 1500 Lb. Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) leaps from the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56) at twice the speed of sound to destroy an advanced high-speed target while USS Monterey (CG 61), USS Stout (DDG 55) and USS Mason (DDG 87) transit in formation. The live-fire event was conducted during the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), the final certification event prior to deployment. As the world’s premier fleet-aria air defense weapon, SM-2 is an integral part of the layered defense that protects the world’s naval assets and gives warfighters a greater reach in the battlespace. SM-2 variants are lethal against subsonic, supersonic, low- and high-altitude, high-maneuvering, diving, sea-skimming, anti ship cruise missiles, fighters, bombers, and helicopters in an advanced electronic countermeasures environment. SM-2 has an extensive area and self-defense flight test history with more than 2,650 successful flight tests from domestic and international ships. (U.S. Navy Photo by Chief Damage Controlman Andrae L. Johnson/Released)