Raytheon To Provide MK 15 Weapon System Upgrades To US, Turkey and Australia

Raytheon has been awarded the US Navy contract worth $287 million for MK 15 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) upgrades for the governments of Turkey and Australia.

“Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, is being awarded a $287,958,605 firm-fixed-price modification under previously awarded contract N00024-15-C-5406 to exercise options for MK 15 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) upgrades and conversions, system overhauls, and associated hardware,” the US Department of Defense announced Thursday.

CIWS is a fast-reaction terminal defense against low- and high-flying, high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats that have penetrated all other defenses.  The CIWS is an integral element of the Fleet Defense In-Depth concept and the Ship Self-Defense Program.  Operating either autonomously or integrated with a combat system, it is an automatic terminal defense weapon system designed to detect, track, engage, and destroy anti-ship missile threats penetrating outer defense envelopes.  CIWS consists of 2 variants:  Phalanx, which utilizes a six-barrel Gatlin gun; and SeaRAM, which replaces the gun with an 11-round Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) guide.  Phalanx CIWS is currently installed on Navy and Coast Guard ships, and is also in use in foreign navies.

This contract combines purchases for the Navy and for the governments of Turkey and Australia (19.16 percent), under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

Work is expected to be completed by December 2022.