Raytheon snaps up $333 million deal from US Navy to produce SM-6 Block IA missiles

Raytheon, an RTX business, has been awarded a $333 million contract from the US Navy to produce Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) Block IA missiles.

As disclosed, Raytheon’s missile supports anti-air and anti-surface warfare and sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense.

Production under this contract will be completed at Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Arizona., Huntsville, Alabama, Andover, Massachusetts, and Dine, New Mexico, with expected completion by 2027.

“SM-6 has a proven performance, and this contract is an important step for providing this urgently needed weapon to our armed forces,” said Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon.

“Raytheon continues to work closely with our customers to ensure our military has an unfair advantage at sea and to keep our adversaries guessing.”

According to Raytheon, the SM-6 weapon is deployable on 60 surface ships, and the company has already delivered more than 500 missiles to the US Navy.

To remind, last year, Raytheon received contracts to produce two missile variants, the SM-2 Block IIICU and SM-6 Block IU. The variants will be based on a common guidance section, where the electronics and software that guide a missile to the target are housed.

The updated variants will share a newly designed guidance section, target detection device, independent flight termination system, and electronics unit.