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Akbar Novruz

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US defense officials have presented the accelerated production effort as part of a broader push to increase magazine depth and ensure that the military can sustain operations during high-intensity conflicts.

“Our mission is to ensure our warfighters never enter a fair fight,” Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, said.

“This multi-year award locks in the magazine depth and lethal dominance our forces need to prevail, while demanding our industrial base produce at war-speed.”

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao similarly emphasized the importance of expanding the supply of munitions available to US forces.

“Maritime strength demands weapons at speed and scale,” Cao said.

“This investment expands production and delivers the firepower our warfighters need to fight, win, and come home safe.”

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle also stressed that combat credibility depends on maintaining sufficient stocks of weapons and ensuring that industry can manufacture them at the required scale.

The long-term contract is intended to provide industry with a predictable demand signal, allowing manufacturers and suppliers to make investments needed to expand production capacity.

The SM-6 is a multi-mission missile used for anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare and ballistic missile defense. According to Raytheon, it has been successfully fired from various US Navy ships as well as land-based launchers.

The Pentagon has previously described the SM-6 as an extended-range missile compatible with the Aegis Weapon System, capable of engaging aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.

Raytheon President Phil Jasper said the company was investing in its industrial capacity to meet growing demand.

“SM-6’s multi-mission capability is vital to our customer, and Raytheon is intensely focused on meeting the demand. By continuously investing in our operations and facilities, we are removing constraints and boosting capacity to ensure we deliver this critical capability our sailors depend on,” Jasper said.

Raytheon has already expanded infrastructure supporting the missile program. A $115 million expansion of its Alabama facility, where components for the SM-6 and SM-3 are assembled into complete munitions, has been completed as part of efforts to increase output.

The SM-6 deal forms part of a much wider US effort to accelerate production of high-demand missiles. Earlier agreements with Raytheon have also targeted increased production of Tomahawk cruise missiles, AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and SM-3 interceptors.