RIM-85 was a short-lived project by the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 to develop a surface-to-air missile

Surface-to-air missile

A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...

 for the defense of naval vessels. Developed during the late 1960s, the project was cancelled before the start of detailed design work.

Development and cancellation

During the 1960s, the United States Navy identified a requirement for a new type of surface-to-air missile, capable of defending ships against attack by enemy aircraft and missiles. The resulting specification called for a medium-range missile, capable of being used in all weather conditions; in addition to its air defense role, the missile was intended to possess a secondary capability in the surface-to-surface mission for use against enemy ships.

In July 1968, the project was assigned the Mission Designation System designation ZRIM-85A, the "Z" indicating a project in the planning stage; however, the program was cancelled later that year, before any significant design work on the missile, or any development of hardware, had been conducted.