[20][21] The U.S. Navy is adding GPS guidance to the SM-6 Block IA so that it has the capability to strike surface targets if needed.

[24] The SM-6 Block IB is currently in final stage development, with production expected to begin in late fiscal year 2024.

The variant is to improve on the existing capabilities of the SM-6 series by incorporating a larger 53 cm (21-inch) diameter motor for greater range and speed.

The Block IB variant is intended to achieve hypersonic speeds, making it highly effective against both aerial and surface targets.

[30] On 27 November 2013, the Standard ERAM achieved Initial Operating Capability (IOC) when it was fielded on board USS Kidd.

One part of the exercise, designated NIFC-CA AS-02A, resulted in the then-longest surface-to-air engagement in naval history;[31] the exact range of the intercept was not publicly released.

[32] On 14 August 2014, an SM-6 was test fired against a subsonic, low-altitude cruise missile target and successfully intercepted it over land.

[18] On 24 October 2014, Raytheon announced that two SM-6s intercepted anti-ship and cruise missile targets during "engage on remote" scenarios.

[34] On 28 July 2015, the Navy tested the modified SM-6 Dual I version to successfully intercept a ballistic missile target in the terminal phase, the last few seconds before it would impact; the Dual I upgrade adds a more powerful processor that runs more sophisticated targeting software to hit a warhead descending from the upper atmosphere at extreme speed.

The new variant will significantly increase the missile's range and speed, enabling a hypersonic and extended-range anti-surface warfare capability.

[54][55] On 19 March 2024, the U.S Missile Defense Agency, working with the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin, successfully conducted an intercept of an advanced MRBM test target using the SM-6 Dual II Software Upgrade (SWUP).

[56] Notably, the test was performed in conjunction with the USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), the first Flight III Aegis Destroyer with SPY-6 radar.

Australian Sensors helped play a role in data collection and communications, including the use of an E-7 Wedgetail aircraft and the ANZAC class HMAS Stuart.

[57][58] In July 2024, the U.S. Navy announced it had operationally deployed an air-launched variant of the RIM-174, designated AIM-174B Standard Missile 6 Air Launched Configuration.

[59] On 26 December 2023, the USS Laboon shot down three ASBMs in the Red Sea fired by Houthi rebels with multiple SM-6s.