Raytheon Receives Contract Worth Up to $6.3 Billion for SM-3 Interceptors

U.S. company Raytheon has received a contract worth up to $6.3 billion to produce and maintain SM-3 Block IB interceptors for U.S. missile defense.

Raytheon announced the contract on October 8 in a company statement. The agreement covers five years, with an option to extend it for another two years.

The contract provides for replenishing interceptor stocks that were heavily used during combat operations in the Middle East.

Production will be concentrated primarily at Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Arizona, and Huntsville, Alabama.

The agreement was awarded as an undefinitized contract action (UCA), allowing the company to begin work before all financial and technical terms have been finalized. The number of missiles ordered and their delivery schedule have not been disclosed.

Raytheon said the multiyear order would enable it to expand production capacity and address supply chain constraints affecting components. The planned measures include expanding assembly lines, securing supplies of solid-fuel rocket motors and engaging subcontractors.

The SM-3 Block IB is designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles during the midcourse phase of their flight outside the atmosphere. The interceptor destroys its target through direct kinetic impact, without using an explosive warhead.

It is deployed on U.S. guided-missile destroyers and cruisers equipped with the Aegis combat system, as well as at ground-based Aegis Ashore sites. It complements the more advanced SM-3 Block IIA, which is designed to intercept more complex ballistic threats.

In April 2024, the U.S. destroyers USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and USS Carney (DDG-64) used SM-3 interceptors in combat for the first time. While repelling an Iranian missile attack on Israel, they launched between four and seven interceptors.

On March 4, 2026, a U.S. SM-3 was also used to intercept an Iranian ballistic missile heading toward Türkiye. The interception took place in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and debris from the interceptor fell near the city of Dörtyol in Hatay Province.

The new order is part of a broader program to expand U.S. missile production.

Militarnyi previously reported that Raytheon received a contract worth up to $24.4 billion for SM-6 missiles in early October. The company plans to increase production to more than 500 missiles a year.