Raytheon Company was awarded two contracts totaling $212.8 million for the production of the Evolved Seasparrow Missile, with an option for $33 million in additional work.
The first contract from the U.S. Navy NATO Seasparrow Project Office (NSPO), as previously announced by the Department of Defense, is for the production of ESSMs through fiscal year 2014 and contains the option for further production. The agreement also provides NSPO consortium-member navies with miscellaneous spare parts, containers and test equipment.
The second contract is a two-year direct commercial sale. Raytheon will provide Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Japan the components and assemblies necessary to manufacture and deliver ESSM weapons to the Japanese Ministry of Defense. Licensed production will take place at MELCO’s facility in Japan.
“ESSM is the foundation of our allies’ anti-ship missile defense,” said Ed Roesly , ESSM program director for Raytheon Missile Systems. “Raytheon, along with our international team of 18 partner companies, has advanced this world-class system to a point of prominence in ship self-defense. We continue to make missile improvements to outpace the threat.”
ESSM defends the battlespace by delivering ship self-defense firepower against high-G maneuvering anti-ship cruise missiles as well as surface and low-velocity air threats. ESSM consortium countries include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey and the United States. Japan and UAE are also ESSM customer nations.
Transformational Anti-ship Missile Defense Capabilities
As a tail-controlled missile, ESSM uses enhancements to its guidance system to take advantage of improved seeker sensitivity, increased propulsion and greater weapon accuracy. These features enable ESSM to arrive at the intercept point with more endgame speed and agility to counter the threat.
ESSM Contribution to Warfighters
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , January 11, 2012