US Navy intercepts ballistic missiles with the aid of a Dutch frigate.
With the aid of a Dutch De Zeven Provincien-class frigate, the US Navy destroyer USS Paul Ignatius has used two Standard Missile-3 Blk IA interceptors to destroy ballistic missiles while they were still in space during the Formidable Shield 2021 NATO sea exercises off the coast of Scotland. The US Navy being able to intercept ballistic missiles isn't new, but being able to do so in partnership with NATO ships is. What is newsworthy is that, until now, this sea capability was exclusive to the United States because of the nature of the technology. The SM-3 used in the tests is capable of reaching an altitude of 652 miles and reaching a speed of Mach 10 (6,615 knots, 7,613 mph, 12,251 km/h), but that's useless without the systems capable of detecting and tracking incoming missiles and then calculating the precise intercept trajectories, which the ships provide.
The latter is particularly important because the interceptor doesn't use an explosive warhead to destroy its target, but is what is called a kinetic kill vehicle. The combined hypersonic closing speed of the missile and interceptor is so great that sheer momentum is more than enough force for the job, which is the equivalent of hitting a bullet with a bullet. This means the calculations and course corrections must be incredibly precise.

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