Raytheon wins $333 million contract to build one of Navy’s most versatile missiles
RTX Corp.’s Tucson-based Raytheon missile-building operation has won a deal worth more than $333 million to bolster the arsenal of one of the U.S. Navy’s most versatile weapons.
The recently awarded deal allots $333,281,489 for Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) Block IA missiles, which the Navy deploys on its ships and is the only missile that supports anti-air and anti-surface warfare and sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense combined into one weapon, according to Raytheon.
The contract includes options that could ultimately boost its value to $908,144,803.
“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, in a statement. “Raytheon continues to work closely with our customers to ensure our military has an unfair advantage at sea and to keep our adversaries guessing.”
Besides ships, the Navy has fired the SM-6 missile from unmanned vessels and land launchers. Sales of the SM-6 have also been approved for several allied nations.
Further demonstrating the SM-6’s versatility, Raytheon announced early last year that it had knocked out a medium-range ballistic missile during a test in the Pacific Ocean. That was the fourth such test for the SM-6 Block IA, which used a new configuration with new software to enhance the missile’s capabilities.
Raytheon in Tucson also last summer won a $344 million contract with the Navy to develop two Standard Missile variants that will share a newly designed guidance technology.
About three quarters of the work for this latest deal will take place in Tucson, and the order is expected to be complete by 2027.
Other Raytheon deals
Two other deals were approved for Raytheon in Tucson over the past few weeks:
- Raytheon was awarded a $31,165,090 modification to an earlier U.S. Navy deal to increase the contract ceiling for hardware to re-certify and modernize 257 Tomahawk Block IV All-Up-Round Missiles, to include 218 for the Navy and 39 for Foreign Military Sales customers. The work will give the missiles up to 15 additional years of service. The modification also procures 24 Maritime Strike Tomahawk missile vertical launch systems and 11 MST missile capsule launch systems for the Navy, as well as provides non-recurring engineering in support of the MST missile transition to production. Work will take place in Tucson, Chandler and at other sites and is expected to be completed in November 2026.
- The Navy awarded Raytheon an $8,188,022 contract modification to exercise options for design agent and engineering support services for the Rolling Airframe Missile. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by March 2028.