Raytheon Wins $543 Million To Produce 17 SM-3 Block IIA Missile For Aegis System

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded a $543 million contract to Raytheon to produce and deliver up to 17 Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA interceptors for operational testing and initial deployment Wednesday.

The contract comes a day after Japan’s Ministry of Defense along with US Missile Defense Agency successfully tested Standard Missile-3 interceptors.

The missile testing was carried out on Tuesday and this was the second such test involving SM-3 Block IIA, US Navy announced on its website.

"Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division… Point Mugu, California hosted a live-fire test of the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missile… developed by the United States and Japan for use with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program," the Navy said on its website on Wednesday.

SM-3 Block IIA is a cooperatively developed joint program with the MDA and Japan Ministry of Defense. The SM-3 Block IIA interceptor will expand the range and capability from the current SM-3 Block IA and IB interceptors enabling more mission flexibility on both Japanese and U.S. Aegis ships.

This new variant of the SM-3 features larger rocket motors and a more capable kill vehicle, which will provide faster speeds and greater range, protecting larger regions of land. Its versatility permits use at sea or on land, with no modification to the missile – a trait unique to the SM-3 family of ballistic missile defense interceptors.