RIM-162 ESSM

RIM-162 ESSM

The RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) is a development of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft. ESSM is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. Compared to the Sea Sparrow, ESSM has a larger, more powerful rocket motor for increased range and agility, as well as upgraded aerodynamics using strakes and skid-to-turn. In addition, ESSM takes advantage of the latest missile guidance technology, with different versions for Aegis/SPY-1, Sewaco/APAR, and traditional target illumination all-the-way. ESSM also has the ability to be "quad-packed" in the Mk 41 VLS system, allowing up to four ESSMs to be carried in a single cell.

Many countries are using or plan to use the ESSM. The first countries to achieve operational status for ESSM were the United States and Australia. Canada, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates have also integrated or are in the process of integrating the ESSM.