TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Missile
Defense Agency awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) $87 million to purchase long-lead materials
needed to produce up to 17 Standard Missile-3 Block IIAs that will
be used for testing and initial deployment. A follow-on contract
for the additional materials, parts and components is expected by
early 2016.
"Our Japanese partners have been tremendous allies in this
development program, and together we've taken ballistic missile
defense to the next level," said Dr. Taylor
W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "When the
SM-3 Block IIA deploys in 2018, we will have a greater degree of
protection than ever before."
The SM-3 Block IIA has larger rocket motors and a bigger, more
capable kill vehicle that allows it to take out threats sooner in
flight and protect larger regions of land.
"The SM-3 Block IIA can be used at sea or on land with no
modification to the missile," said Amy
Cohen, Standard Missile-3 program director. "The SM-3 is the
only ballistic missile defense interceptor that can be deployed
both ways, and that flexibility is a tremendous asset."
The program is on track for both land and sea deployment in 2018
in line with Phase 3 of the U.S.'s Phased Adaptive Approach for
missile defense of U.S. deployed forces and allies in NATO
Europe.
About the Standard Missile-3
SM-3s destroy
incoming ballistic missile threats in space using nothing more than
sheer impact, which is equivalent to a 10-ton truck traveling at
600 mph.
- More than 230 SM-3s have been delivered to date.
- SM-3 Block IB will be deployed at sea and ashore in 2015 in
Romania.
- SM-3 Block IIA is on track for deployment at sea and ashore in
2018 in Poland and/or Romania.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23
billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and
innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and
cybersecurity markets throughout the world. With a history of
innovation spanning 93 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 cybersecurity and a broad
range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in
Waltham, Mass. For more about
Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter
@Raytheon.
Media Contacts
Heather Uberuaga
+1.520.891.8421
rmspr@raytheon.com
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SOURCE Raytheon Company