Raytheon has announced on Wednesday that the company has successfully flight tested the first SM-2 surface-to-air missile from the company's restarted production line with support from the U.S. Navy.
"The SM-2 is in high demand because of its advanced capabilities and history of more than 2,700 successful flight tests from U.S. Navy and international ships," said Dr. Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Strategic and Naval Systems vice president.
The SM-2 Block IIIB missile launched, flew and provided accurate telemetry data to the range, and engaged an airborne Navy target. The missile will enable navies to defend against anti-ship missiles and aircraft.
Raytheon has delivered over 11,000 SM-2 missiles to customers worldwide. In 2020, the company will begin to provide Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands with more than 280 missiles from its latest production batch.
"Navies worldwide have relied on this missile and it will continue to provide fleet protection for decades to come," added Stevison.
In Dec. 2018, Raytheon‘s missile systems business has received a potential four-year, $149.4 million cost-plus-incentive contract for the engineering, manufacturing, and development of Standard Missile-2 Block IIIC.
Work will continue in Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, New York and England through October 2022. SM-2 is a fleet-area air defense weapon system designed to target anti-ship missiles and aircraft threats at an altitude of up to 65K feet from approximately 90 nautical miles.
The missile is a part of layered defense that works to safeguard naval assets from threats through its semi-active radar seeker technologies and solid rocket motor propulsion. Naval Sea Systems Command will respectively obligate $50 million and $234.6 thousand in research, development, testing and evaluation funds for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 at the time of award.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
