Aug 10 (Reuters) - The Australian government said on

Saturday it had for the first time test-fired a Raytheon

SM-6 missile from a Navy ship, a major step in acquiring and

integrating the air-defence weapon into its inventory.

The HMAS Sydney conducted the test near the U.S. state of

Hawaii as part of the Pacific Dragon 2024 exercise, Australia's

defence ministry said, calling it a "significant milestone" in a

deal first approved in 2021.

The SM-6 is the most advanced naval air defence missile in

the U.S. arsenal, including against ballistic missiles, and has

also been tested for striking ships and ground targets, and in

air-to-air scenarios.

"This is another example of the acceleration in acquisitions

of critical capabilities for the Navy," said Pat Conroy,

Australia's minister for defence industry and capability

delivery. "The ability to deter an adversary from extended

ranges and to deter attempts to project power against Australia

is a core part of the National Defence Strategy."

Australia has been working to bolster its military

capabilities in the face of rising tensions with China,

including U.S.-funded improvements in bases.

Expanding the area that a ship can defend forces adversaries

to operate farther away and enables the Royal Australian Navy

(RAN) to push deeper into contested waters if there is a

conflict.

In March, Australia helped with a separate U.S. SM-6 test by

providing data collection, communications and tracking,

according to the U.S. Missile Defence Agency.

The Australian government has not said how many of the

missiles they are planning to buy from the United States. But

when the foreign military sale was approved in 2021, U.S.

government documents show an estimated cost of $350 million for

"defence articles and services".

That number included both SM-6 and older SM-2 missiles,

already in use by Australia's navy.

The announcement on Saturday did not say when the SM-6 would

be operational, but said it would be deployed on Hobart-class

destroyers, of which Australia has three. Each can carry 48 air

defence missiles.

"The versatility of SM-6 makes it an attractive addition to

the RAN's limited missile armoury, giving it additional

anti-ship and missile defence capability to complement the Naval

Strike Missile," an advanced anti-ship missile the RAN also

recently tested, said Euan Graham, a senior analyst with the

Australian Strategic Policy Institute.