Raytheon receives $126 million SM-3 contract

Raytheon Company

was awarded a sole-source, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract valued at $126,000,000. The SM-3 missile is designed to destroy incoming short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats by colliding with them in space, a concept sometimes described as "hitting a bullet with a bullet." This contract modification is to procure the material required to manufacture up to 29 SM-3 Block IB missiles. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2016. About the Standard Missile-3 The SM-3 does not contain an explosive warhead, but instead destroys the threats using sheer impact, equivalent to a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 mph. More than 150 SM-3s have been delivered to U.S. and Japanese navies. Raytheon is on track to deploy the next-generation SM-3 Block IB guided missile in 2015. SM-3 Block IB will be deployed in both afloat and ashore weapons systems.