Before SM-6, Standard Missile variants relied on semi-active homing: a ship had to track the target with a director and illuminate it at high frequency for the missile's terminal guidance. SM-2 could fly most of the route with ship-supplied updates, but terminal illumination still tied a radar channel to a particular target. The comment explains how that requirement, together with a twin-rail launcher and only a pair of directors on many ships, constrained how many threats could be engaged at once. Superstructure blind sectors further complicated director coverage, making combat capacity a product of guidance architecture and ship layout as well as missile range.
Notable Point · 21:13-22:24
Why semi-active guidance limited missile engagement rate
Standard Missile's reliance on shipboard tracking and terminal illumination tied engagement capacity to radar directors, launchers, and their fields of view.