“I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” (Albert Einstein) As the United States continues to build and improve its weapons system, this quote is perhaps truer than many may think. The United States is proud to be one of the superpowers of the world, one of the ways in which the United States is able to maintain the title of superpower is the weapons it has, such as the Standard Missile 3. The Standard Missile 3 is a missile ship-based anti-ballistic aircraft used by the Aegis ballistic missile defense system. The use of the Standard Missile 3 is to perform all the same functions as the Standard Missile 2 Block III, but also have the ability to fire into space and destroy enemy satellites. The Standard Missile 3, although derived from the Standard Missile 2 Block III, differs from other missiles in several ways. A brief history of the Standard Missile 2 is imperative, because the Standard Missile 3 evolved directly from the Standard Missile 2. Early in the creation of the Standard Missile, the Standard Missile replaced the RIM-8 Talos missile. When the Standard Missile was first created, it was produced by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of the RCA Corporation, but is currently produced by Lockheed and Martin. In the late 1970s the first Standard Missile 2 became operational. It was not until the early 1980s that the Standard Missile 2 was deployed operationally with the Aegis system. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) the United States had deployed standard missiles for the first time to protect its Navy and other shipping in the Persian Gulf from Iranian attacks. ...... third stage rocket engine (also known as Advanced Solid Axial Starge, ASAS, manufactured by Alliant Techsystems), a GPS/INS guidance section (also known as GAINS, GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System), and a LEAP (Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile) kinetic warhead (i.e. a non-explosive hit-to-kill warhead). The launch ships will be upgraded with Aegis LEAP Intercept (ALI) computer software and hardware" (Raytheon RIM-161). The Standard Missile 3, although derived from the Standard Missile 2 Block III, differs from other missiles in one variety of ways. Works Cited Webb, Angela (February 26, 2008). “Joint effort made satellite success possible.” U.S. Air Force .United States Navy,US Navy Fact File:Standard Missile, 11 October 2002. Accessed 5 June 2006.GlobalSecurity.org - RIM systems standard specification designation-66