WASHINGTON – Surface warships from several NATO allies tracked and knocked down ballistic missile targets from the sea for the first time sharing targeting information across a shared alliance network. Breaking Defense reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

26 Nov. 2019 -- The multinational live-fire Formidable Shield exercise last May off the coast of Scotland saw a French frigate knock down a supersonic target with an Aster 15 missile, while the Royal Canadian Navy tracked and hit another supersonic target with an Evolved Sea Sparrow missile. Both were firsts for the respective sea services.

The exercise, which simulated ballistic and cruise missile threats, was a key test for integrating NATO’s sea forces across one tactical network that can push information across a deployed task force -- something of incalculable importance in the confined spaces of Baltic Sea or North Atlantic if Russian missiles were launched from Kaliningrad or the Kola Peninsula.

While the French and Canadians hit their targets as NATO AWACS aircraft cleared airspace around the drill, Formidable Shield also marked the first key test of a NATO command and control structure, including the first at-sea deployment of Naples, Italy-based Commander Task Group 64, which runs the integrated air and missile defense mission for US Naval Forces Europe-Africa and the commander of 6th Fleet.

This article by John Keller originally appeared on Military & Aerospace Electronics in 2019.

Image: Reuters.