Six ships in the U.S. Navy's Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group completed a pre-deployment, multi-ship live-fire exercises with the Standard Missile 2.

The use of the air-defense weapons against an advanced high-speed target earlier this week involved four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers -- USS Mason, USS Roosevelt, USS Stout and USS Nitze -- and two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, the USS San Jacinto and USS Monterey.

Advanced tactical techniques and procedures, including cooperative tracking, were practiced using the ship's Aegis weapons systems before firing the SM-2 missiles at inbound targets.

"All six ships scored kills as measured by the missile and target instrumentation, including two direct hits," the Navy said. "This demonstrates a successful ramp-up in an era of continued complexity and tactical relevance in the employment of the Aegis weapons system against high-end threats."