Raytheon receives Standard Missile contract for U.S., foreign navies

July 25 (UPI) -- Raytheon Missile Systems has received a $11.5 million contract modification for engineering and technical services for Standard Missile-2 and Standard Missile-6 surface-to-air missiles.

The contract will goes toward SM-2 and SM-6 missiles in service with the U.S. Navy, Japan, Denmark, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany. The work includes engineering work for production and integration of the system into Navy and foreign missile platforms.

Work will be conducted in Tucson, Ariz. and has an expected completion date of June 2018. Some $11.5 million in Navy research and foreign military sales funding will be obligated upon award.

The Standard series, including the SM-2 and SM-6 surface-to-air missiles, are a primary part of the AEGIS Weapon System mounted on Ticonderoga and Arleigh Burke-class Navy warships. Standard missile variants are also in use with 15 allied countries.

The SM-2 Block IV in service with the U.S. Navy uses a combination of inertial navigation, semi-active radar from the AWS and an infrared seeker head for terminal guidance on targets. It has a range of over 200 miles and can be turned over to the AWS for autonomous targeting and guidance instructions.

The SM-6 is an extended range variant that includes an active-radar seeker head based on the AMRAAM air-to-air missile, giving it improved long-range guidance outside the AWS radar envelope.

Both models are also capable of targeting surface vessels and have a limited ability to target short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The SM-3 model of the Standard series is the primary anti-ballistic missile defense system in use by the U.S. Navy.