Deliveries doubled! The United States receives its 1,000th "Evolved Sea Sparrow" missile to strengthen ship air defense

NATO's Sea Sparrow missile team and industry partners gathered together in October to celebrate the delivery of the 1,000th "Evolved Sea Sparrow" missile. (Taken from the U.S. Navy official website)

[Reporter Tu Jumin/Comprehensive Report] In response to air threats such as anti-ship missiles and drones, the U.S. Navy continues to expand its inventory of ship-based anti-aircraft missiles. The U.S. Navy recently announced that it has received its 1,000th "Evolved Sea Sparrow" Block 2 (ESSM Block 2) missile, just one year after reaching the 500 delivery milestone last year. This advanced anti-aircraft missile, which can terminally track targets on its own, has become an important weapon jointly purchased by the United States and NATO allies.

The foreign military news website "Defense Blog" reported that according to information from the U.S. Navy's NATO Sea Sparrow Program Office (PMX-312), ESSM Block 2 has been deployed since 2020 and is mainly used to counter threats such as military aircraft, anti-ship cruise missiles, and drones. Compared with the old missile, ESSM Block 2 has a new active radar seeker, which can lock the target on its own at the end of the flight, without having to continuously rely on ship radar illumination, improving the ability to engage multiple targets at the same time.

ESSM Block 2 is produced by Raytheon, a subsidiary of RTX Group. The U.S. Navy awarded an additional purchase contract worth US$833 million (approximately NT$26.6 billion) in April this year, and is scheduled to be completed in September 2030. Prior to this, Raytheon has obtained a US$525 million mass production contract in 2024. If the relevant options are fully exercised, the total amount will reach US$2.2 billion.

Public information shows that the ESSM Block 2 has a range of about 50 kilometers and a maximum speed of over Mach 4. It can adopt the "four bombs in one pit" method to load 4 bombs in a single launch unit of the Mk 41 vertical launch system, increasing the amount of anti-aircraft ammunition carried by warships, and forming a multi-layered defense with the standard series missiles with longer ranges.

It is worth noting that the "Evolved Sea Sparrow" is jointly developed, produced and maintained by 12 countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, and Germany. Although Japan is not a member of the cooperative organization, it is also produced under license from Mitsubishi Electric. In August this year, the U.S. Navy consulted on the next-generation improved design, requiring the missile body diameter to be maintained at 10 inches, indicating that it is planning subsequent upgrades as it continues to expand mass production.