Raytheon to Supply US, Allies With New Missiles Under $344M Contract

Raytheon, an RTX business, will develop two updated missile variants under a $344 million contract funded by the Foreign Military Sales program.

The SM-2 Block IIICU and SM-6 Block IU missile variants will be equipped with the same upgraded guidance section, target detection device, independent flight termination system and electronics unit to use a common production line and speed up and reduce the cost of manufacturing the weapons.

The new missiles will be provided to the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea, RTX said.

According to Kim Ernzen, president of naval power at Raytheon, the delivery of the weapon systems will mark the first time that the U.S. allies will field the company’s Standard Missile active radar technology. The missiles “are integral to the defense of the U.S. Navy and our allies,” she added.

Work under the contract will be performed in Tucson, Arizona. A follow-on contract is expected to be awarded in the coming months for missile level qualification events and at-sea flight tests of the SM-2 Block IIICU variant.