160315-N-GP524-112ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 15, 2016) – A 1,500-pound Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) launches from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) at twice the speed of sound on its way to destroying an advanced high-speed target during a live-fire test of the ship’s Aegis weapons system. The live-fire event was conducted during the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), the final certification event prior to deployment. As the world’s premier fleet-area air defense weapon, SM-2 is an integral part of the layered defense that protects the world’s naval assets and gives warfighters a greater reach in the battlespace. SM-2 variants have successfully intercepted targets and are lethal against subsonic, supersonic, low- and high-altitude, high-maneuvering, diving, sea-skimming, anti-ship cruise missiles, fighters, bombers and helicopters in an advanced electronic countermeasures environment. SM-2 has an extensive area and self-defense flight test history with more than 2,650 successful flight tests from domestic and international ships. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Bill Dodge/Released)