Navy launches SM-2 missile during drill off East Coast

Taiwan's Navy yesterday fired a U.S.-made surface-to-air Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) in waters off the island's East Coast as part of a live-fire exercise to showcase the armed forces' defense capability.

This was the first time in six years that Taiwan's military conducted a public missile system test. The last time the weapon was used was during the 2007 Han Kuang drill (漢光演習), which is the nation's largest annual drill involving all military branches, according to the Navy.

The missile was fired from the “Ma Kong” (馬公), a Kidd-class destroyer. The SM-2 missile was fired at a location 60 nautical miles off Hualien harbor in eastern Taiwan. The missile successfully hit a target drone located 35 nautical north of the Ma Kong 80 seconds after it was fired, the Navy said.

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