Washington: Raytheon is investing in its Standard Missile 3 lines to accelerate the production rate of the US Navy weapon, as global interest in procuring the capability expands amid successful intercepts against ballistic missile attacks in the Middle East.
Raytheon produces both the SM-3 Block IB and the newer SM-3 Block IIA capable of defeating short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The SM-3 became combat proven in April 2024 countering missile attacks on Israel from Iran.
The SM-3 Block IIA also played a key role in the Missile Defence Agency’s first test of an initial capability established on Guam to defend the strategic island in the Pacific from possible air and missile threats in the region. The interceptor, fired from a Vertical Launch System on the island, took out a medium-range, air-launched ballistic missile threat target in the test last month.
And while the Missile Defence Agency attempted to end SM-3 Block IB production in its fiscal 2025 budget request in order to pursue new development priorities, including investments in the Block IIA version, Congress has restored funding to keep that line hot in the National Defence Authorisation Act. Lawmakers have yet to approve appropriations of fiscal year 2025 funding.
“A year ago SM-3 had not been combat-proven,” Misty Holmes, Raytheon’s vice president of naval shipboard missiles, said in a January 13 interview. “We live in a new world now where this weapon system has been proven in combat, it is saving lives, and we know that with the expenditures, there’s got to be replenishment, so we’re trying to get ahead of that demand signal.”
The company is “coming off a record year of deliveries for the SM-3 IB,” Holmes said. “SM-3 IIA is just coming up to that full-rate production effort. We got our contract award last fall. SM-3 IB has been in full-rate production and is humming and has a healthy pipeline, and we want to keep it that way.”
South Korea is a prominent example of an allied nation with a strong interest in buying the missile, though Seoul it is not yet a customer, according to Holmes.
The company is working “very closely” with its vendors across the supply chain to ensure investments are lined up to achieve greater rates, she said. Holmes declined to say what kind of output boost Raytheon executives are envisioning.
So far the company invested over $115 million to secure a nearly 67% capacity increase for final integration of all of its Standard Missile all-up rounds at a factory expansion being built in Huntsville, Alabama, within close proximity to the US Army’s Redstone Arsenal where much of the service’s missile-related program offices reside. The expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, Holmes said.
In addition to investments in increasing production speed, Raytheon is also focused on driving the cost down to produce SM-3s. “We’re focused on affordability and partnering with the MDA and our allied nations, Foreign Military Sales customers, so that we can provide the best economic value,” Holmes said. “That’s not buying in small batches.”
Raytheon is also focused on what’s next for capability upgrades to include enhanced sensing and discrimination technology and increased range, “which provides operators with more time for decision making,” Holmes said. “We want to be able to engage the threat as far away from the homeland.”
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