The exchange asks why the US Navy has not replaced a missile family whose name dates from the Cold War. The answer is that continuity of name does not mean continuity of design. Even the sequence leading to SM-6 understates the number of variants and capability changes within each nominal generation. A weapon family cannot be dated solely by its original label because evolutionary modernization can produce a system far removed from its starting form.
Notable Point · 30:40-31:13
An old missile name can hide extensive redesign
The Standard Missile's long service does not mean the US Navy is operating an unchanged Cold War weapon; the family name covers successive marks and many internal variants.