The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Missile Systems additional $270,5 million for the production and spares requirements of the Standard Missile-6.
Raytheon’s Standard Missile-6, which is currently in production for the U.S. Navy, is the only defence missile capable of defending against both ballistic and cruise missiles, as Taylor W. Lawrence, president of Raytheon Missile Systems, put it.
According to Raytheon, a July 2015 test saw one SM-6 interceptor destroy a ballistic missile and two other SM-6 missiles take out cruise missiles.
This latest contract modification brings the cumulative value of the contract to $573.2 million. Raytheon will perform most of the work in its Camden, Arkansas and Tucson, Arizona facilities.
Raytheon began delivering the missiles to U.S. Navy in 2014 after a series of successful tests. According to the company, the Navy intends to acquire a total of 1,800 piece for its cruiser and destroyer ships.