Raytheon awarded $6.3 billion missile defense contract

Raytheon, a business unit of RTX, has secured a multiyear contract worth up to $6.34 billion to manufacture and assemble Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB interceptors for the U.S. military. The agreement, issued by the Missile Defense Agency, spans five years with two additional option years.

The SM-3 Block IB is a kinetic kill vehicle designed to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles outside Earth’s atmosphere through direct impact rather than an explosive warhead. The system is utilized by the U.S. Navy aboard Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships and at land-based Aegis Ashore installations.

Production work is slated to take place in Huntsville, Alabama, and Tucson, Arizona. The contract aims to provide production stability, address manufacturing bottlenecks, and replenish missile defense inventories to counter evolving ballistic threats.