U.S. approves SM-6 and SM-2 missile sale to equip Germanys future F127 Aegis frigates.

The U.S. State Department has cleared a possible 3.5 billion Foreign Military Sale to Germany for SM-6 Block I and SM-2 Block IIIC missiles to equip the German Navy’s future F127 air and missile defense frigates. The move boosts Germany’s high-end naval air and missile defense capacity, tightening NATO’s layered shield over the Baltic and North Atlantic.

In a decision that underscores how quickly Berlin is trying to move up the air and missile defense ladder at sea, the U.S. State Department on 14 November 2025 approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to Germany for Standard Missile 6 Block I and Standard Missile 2 Block IIIC, with an estimated value of up to 3.5 billion dollars, according to a notification from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency transmitted to Congress. The missiles will arm the German Navy’s planned F127 air and missile defense frigates, which are being designed around the Aegis Weapon System and the AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar, giving Germany a long-range, multi-layer naval shield against cruise and ballistic missile threats while tying its fleet more tightly into U.S. and NATO architectures.
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The combination of SM-6 and SM-2 Block IIIC provides the F127 frigates with a layered engagement structure against air and missile threats, while retaining some offensive options. (Picture source: TKMS)

Germany requests up to 173 Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) Block I and 577 Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IIIC missiles, together with MK 21 and MK 13 containers for transport, storage, and launch from vertical launching systems. The package also includes MK 21 Mod 3 and MK 13 Mod 1 canisters, test equipment, spare parts, training aids, a complete technical documentation set, and life-cycle sustainment support. RTX Corporation is designated as the prime contractor, with industrial sites involved in Camden, Tucson, and Huntsville, while any offset arrangements will be negotiated directly between the company and the customer. The notification sets a ceiling for cost and quantities, with the final configuration and delivery profile to be defined after the parliamentary review phase and the conclusion of one or more FMS contracts.

SM-6, designated in the US Navy as the RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile, is a shipborne multi-role interceptor. It combines a Standard missile airframe with an active radar seeker derived from the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and is launched from Mk 41 vertical launch modules. Open sources describe an operational range above 200 kilometres and a speed around Mach 3.5, which allows engagements well beyond the radar horizon against aircraft, cruise missiles, and some ballistic missiles in their terminal phase. The guidance chain uses inertial navigation with in-flight updates and an active terminal mode, which reduces reliance on continuous target illumination in an electronic warfare environment and gives commanders more options for managing EMCON.

SM-2 Block IIIC is the latest development in the RIM-66 Standard Medium Range family and introduces an active radio frequency seeker derived from SM-6 technology, replacing the previous semi-active guidance system. It remains a medium to long-range surface-to-air missile, with an engagement envelope in open publications generally estimated between 100 and 160 kilometres depending on the firing profile, allowing area defense around a naval group. Propulsion and the fragmentation warhead stay close to earlier versions, but the missile receives a modified fin set and thrust vector control devices that improve post-launch handling, which is useful for vertical launch in heavy seas or tight manoeuvres.

The F127 program is based on a platform about 160 metres long with a full-load displacement that may approach 10,000 tonnes, derived from the MEKO A-400 AMD family and adapted for air and missile defense in Northern European waters. Current design work anticipates two 32-cell Mk 41 modules for long-range surface-to-air missiles, the AN/SPY-6(V)1 S-band active electronically scanned array radar with four fixed faces, and a combat architecture combining Aegis fire-control functions with a modern combat management system. This approach places German shipyards and equipment manufacturers in a larger community of Aegis-equipped surface combatants, while leaving room for national integration of sensors, electronic warfare, and communications, in line with the priorities of the national Defense Industrial and Technological Base (BITD).

The combination of SM-6 and SM-2 Block IIIC provides the F127 frigates with a layered engagement structure against air and missile threats, while retaining some offensive options. SM-6 offers long-range interception against complex air and missile profiles, including some ballistic trajectories, and also has anti-ship and land-attack roles when targeting data and rules of engagement permit. SM-2 Block IIIC occupies the medium-range bracket as a more affordable interceptor with an active seeker, able to protect escorted units against sea-skimming cruise missiles and saturation attacks. Integrated into NATO networks, these frigates contribute to a shared Recognised Maritime Picture (RMP) and Common Operational Picture (COP) with allied navies and expand the protected volume around a German task group, including in situations where command limits emissions for EMCON reasons.

This sale deepens transatlantic industrial and operational links around naval air and missile defense, following Germany’s earlier decision to select the SPY-6(V)1 radar for eight F127 hulls and to scale up the class. For the United States, the case supports RTX production of Standard missiles already in service with other users such as Australia and Japan, and reinforces a group of interoperable surface combatants sharing sensors, data links, and munitions. For Europe, this acquisition comes on top of German investments in air defense, from the European Sky Shield Initiative to renewed naval construction, and indicates the intention to make Berlin a central actor in integrated air and missile defense in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic. Over the next decade, German frigates will move from being primarily consumers of allied air defense to acting as substantial contributors within the alliance architecture, with F127 and its Standard missile inventory playing a central role in that development.