In one 1990 firing, an NTU ship's SM-2ER reportedly overtook missiles launched by an Aegis cruiser and hit the target first. The anecdote comes with a caveat: further research can change a historian's technical assessment. It also illustrates a recurring procurement problem. An established system may reach peak capability near the end of its service life, while its replacement spends its early years catching up. The newer system then becomes dominant as the older one leaves service. Fleet modernization cannot be assessed by assuming that the latest system is immediately the most effective.
Notable Point · 7:27-9:27
NTU performance and naval technology lifecycles
A New Threat Upgrade firing anecdote leads into a broader lesson about mature systems outperforming their early replacements.