Raytheon, Aerojet Strike $1B Standard Missile Deal

Aerojet Rocketdyne will provide propulsion systems for Raytheon's Standard Missiles (SM) for five years, under a new $1 billion deal signed between the two companies.

"Raytheon Missile Systems business has reached a $1 billion, five-year strategic agreement to purchase propulsion systems from Aerojet Rocketdyne for Standard Missile products. The deal represents a supply chain centerpiece of multi-year Standard Missiles contracts that Raytheon recently received," Raytheon said in a statement Thursday.

The agreement is designed to both stabilize and lower costs of the supply chain under Raytheon’s long-running contracts with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy.

Aerojet Rocketdyne provides propulsion systems spanning Raytheon's Standard Missile family. For the SM-2 missile, SM-3 interceptor and SM-6 missile, Aerojet Rocketdyne supplies the majority of the solid rocket motors for these systems. Also, for SM-3, the company produces the Divert and Attitude Control System, a high-precision, quick-reaction propulsion system that positions the interceptor to defeat incoming ballistic missiles.

Work on the programs will be spread across Aerojet Rocketdyne sites in Orange County, Virginia, the Solid Rocket Motor Center of Excellence in Camden, Arkansas, and at its Advanced Manufacturing Facility in Huntsville, Alabama. Raytheon produces SM-2 in Tucson, and SM-3 and SM-6 in Huntsville.