Raytheon receives contract worth up to $6.3 billion to produce SM-3 missiles — Breaking Defense – UA.NEWS

Raytheon receives contract worth up to $6.3 billion to produce SM-3 missiles — Breaking Defense  UA.NEWS

Raytheon received a multiyear Pentagon contract worth up to $6.3 billion to produce SM-3 Block IB interceptor missiles. The Pentagon announced that Raytheon has received a multiyear contract to produce Standard Missile-3 Block IB interceptor missiles worth up to $6.3 billion. Breaking Defense reports. The base value of the five-year contract is $4.4 billion. The document also provides for options worth approximately $2 billion to purchase additional missiles over another two years. The Pentagon did not specify the number of missiles covered by the agreement. Michael Duffey, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said the agreement is intended to provide production predictability for the defense industrial base, eliminate bottlenecks in component manufacturing, and ensure the military has the required interceptors available.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram. The Pentagon classifies the SM-3 Block IB as critical munitions whose production it seeks to increase as quickly as possible. According to Raytheon, the missiles can be launched from ships and ground-based launchers and are designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles during the midcourse phase of flight. Raytheon President Phil Jasper said the contract should help replenish interceptor stocks and respond to threats faced by the U.S. Navy, the Missile Defense Agency, and their partners. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency served as