RTX Raytheon tapped for infrared- and radar-guided ballistic missile defense weapons in $1 billion contract
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Missile-defense experts at RTX Corp. will provide as many as 55 infrared-guided RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) Block 1B weapons, which acquire, track, and attack incoming ballistic missiles, under terms of a $1 billion contract announced on Friday.
Officials of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in Huntsville, Ala., are asking the RTX Raytheon segment in Tucson, Ariz., to build SM-3 Block IB missiles that are manufactured, assembled, and tested in accordance with the SM-3 Block IB specifications.
The Standard Missile-3 is a U.S. Navy hit-to-kill ballistic missile defense interceptor designed to destroy short-to-intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It uses an exoatmospheric kill vehicle that crashes into the incoming ballistic missile during its mid-course phase in space.
The massive collision of the kill vehicle hitting its target obliterates the incoming ballistic missile and its warheads, Raytheon officials say; explosives are not necessary. The resulting impact is the equivalent of a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 miles per hour.
Launch from land and sea
The Standard Missile-3 can launch from land sites as well as from specially equipped Navy Aegis destroyers and cruisers. The Standard Missile-3 Block IB has an enhanced two-color infrared seeker, and uses the host ship's radar to home-in on its target.
The missile also has upgraded steering and propulsion that uses short bursts of precision propulsion to direct the missile toward incoming targets. The missile became operational in 2014, deploying for the first time on U.S. Navy ships.
The SM-3 Block IIA, meanwhile, is in cooperation with Japan for deployment on land and at sea. It has larger rocket motors than its predecessors that will enable it to defend broader areas from ballistic missile threats and a larger kinetic warhead than previous versions.
On this contract, RTX Raytheon will do the work in Tucson, Ariz., and Huntsville, Ala., and should be finished by March 2031. For more information contact RTX Raytheon online at www.rtx.com/raytheon/what-we-do/strategic-missile-defense/sm-3-interceptor, or the Missile Defense Agency at www.mda.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
