Raytheon, an RTX business, has been awarded a contract worth $745.39m to manufacture and assemble Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA interceptors for the US Government and Japan’s Ministry of Defense.
The contract, announced by the US Department of War (DoW), was awarded on a noncompetitive, undefinitised basis, is designated as HQ0851-26-C-E002 and covers SM-3 Block IIA All-Up Rounds to meet both US and Japanese Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case requirements.
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The interceptor is designed to defend against short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats, employing a “hit-to-kill” mechanism that destroys incoming missiles through kinetic impact rather than explosive warheads.
Work on the contract will be carried out in Tucson, Arizona, and Huntsville, Alabama, with completion anticipated by 28 February 2031.
An immediate funding obligation at contract award includes $275.61m from US fiscal 2026 procurement funds and $277.69m from Japanese FMS funds.
The Missile Defense Agency, based in Huntsville, Alabama, is overseeing the project.
The SM-3 Block IIA, a joint development between the US and Japan, incorporates larger rocket motors and an enlarged kinetic warhead to address a broader array of ballistic missile threats.
Improvements in the warhead have enhanced targeting capabilities, supporting the system’s ability to counter more advanced and emerging threats.
Raytheon said it reached full-rate production of the Block IIA variant in October 2024. The Block IIA follows earlier iterations such as Block IB, which was first launched in 2014, while the Block IIA’s inaugural test launch occurred in 2017.
According to Raytheon, more than 400 SM-3 interceptors have been delivered for deployment by the US and Japanese naval forces, and the programme has recorded over 30 successful intercepts in space.
The SM-3 interceptor forms a core part of the US missile defence architecture, including contributions to the Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defence in Europe, with deployments aboard US Navy vessels and at land-based sites such as Romania.
This latest contract follows a prior $2bn award in 2024 for the manufacture and assembly of SM-3 Block IIA All-Up Rounds, demonstrating continued US and Japanese investment in layered missile defence capabilities.
