Raytheon starts full-rate production of MRIC medium-range anti-air system with radar and infrared sensors

Summary points:

• The U.S. Marine Corps is advancing its air defense capabilities with a $380 million investment in the Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) program, aimed at countering cruise missiles and drones near attack beaches.
• MRIC uses the Raytheon SkyHunter missile, an American version of the Israeli Tamir missile for Iron Dome, which offers enhanced protection from drones, rockets, and missiles, with a range to 43 miles.
• The Marines will deploy MRIC starting this fall, which will mark a significant step in restoring mid-range defense capabilities previously lost in 1997.

QUANTICO MARINE BASE, Va. – The U.S. Marine Corps is pouring more money into a medium-range anti-air weapon system that can detect, track, identify, and destroy enemy cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft in and around attack beaches.

Officials of the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., announced a potential $380 million order earlier this month to the RTX Corp. Raytheon segment in Tucson, Ariz., for full-rate production of the Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) program.

MRIC is for mobile attacking forces and fixed sites in contested environments like the Indo-Pacific theater. It is a rapid prototyping program to develop short-to-medium range air defenses. This order brings the total value of the MRIC contract to $412.5 million.

RTX Raytheon won a $32.5 million quick-turnaround contract in late July for 44 sets of long-lead items for MRIC full-rate production, spare parts and upgrades to earlier prototype systems. Long-lead items either are difficult and time-consuming to obtain, and are funded early to keep overall production on schedule.

Missile command and control

The medium-range MRIC integrates with the Marine Corps Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) and the Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S), and borrows technology from Israel’s Iron Dome -- particularly a U.S. version of the Tamir missile interceptor called SkyHunter, which has a 43-mile range, with possible extended versions in development.

The MRIC guidance systems consist of the G/ATOR radar for 360-degree coverage for detecting and tracking targets; the CAC2S for command, control, and communications; the SkyHunter interceptor with radar and infrared sensors for guidance.

MRIC fires the Raytheon SkyHunter surface-to-air missile, which is the American version of the Israeli Tamir Iron Dome missile. The SkyHunter missile has a range of 2.4 to 43.4 miles, and can shoot down cruise missiles, rockets, artillery shells, mortars, drones, and other aerial threats.

The SkyHunter surface-to-air missile is manufactured through a joint venture between Raytheon Technologies (RTX) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

Tell me more about SkyHunter surface-to-air missile ...

• The SkyHunter is the U.S. designation for the Israeli Iron Dome surface-to-air missile system. It is a joint venture between Rafael in Israel and RTX Corp. in the U.S., that allows for co-production in the U.S. to meet American military needs and potentially support foreign military sales. Iron Dome has achieved success rates of 85 to 90 percent in intercepting threats during real-world conflicts; can be rapidly deployed and moved; and has a per-missile cost of $40,000 to $100,000, which is less expensive than many traditional surface-to-air missiles. It works well with other systems like Patriot or THAAD for a multi-layered defense. The missile uses an active radar seeker for terminal guidance; electronic designation systems; two-way data link to receive updates from the fire-control system; and flight-control electronics.

MRIC relies heavily on digital signal processing (DSP) for its radar and infrared sensor to detect and track several aerial threats at once. DSP enables MRIC to filter, analyze and synthesize radar signals to identify threats, and is critical for target discrimination, threat identification, and real-time situational awareness.

The DSP capabilities in MRIC are part of what makes it capable of responding quickly to complex fast-moving threats in contested environments.

MRIC can defend against several kinds of aerial threats launched simultaneously and from different angles. It is trailer-mounted and can carry as many as 20 missiles in four levels of missile pods.

Mid-range defense

The Marines are moving forward with fielding MRIC to re-establish mid-range defense capabilities they have been without since retiring the MIM-23 Hawk missile batteries in 1997.

MRIC initial operating capability was last year; now comes full-rate production, and the Marines will outfit an initial platoon with MRIC later this fall. All three of the Marine Corps Low Altitude Air Defense Battalions will receive MRIC launchers, missiles, and support equipment between 2026 and 2028.

On this order, RTX Raytheon will do the work in Tucson, Ariz., and should be finished by August 2028. For more information contact RTX Raytheon online at www.rtx.com/raytheon/news/2022/05/03/med-range-interceptor-capability-proves-effective, or Marine Corps Systems Command at www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil.