Pentagon signs $24.4bn Raytheon deal to speed up SM-6 missile production

The Pentagon on Thursday announced a $24.4-billion contract for Raytheon to accelerate production of SM-6 missiles as Washington works to replace munitions expended during the war with Iran.

The SM-6 is described as a “critical anti-air and anti-surface warfare munition”. The five-year agreement includes two option years.

The Pentagon said the deal “will drive faster production” and “provides the defence industry with the long-term predictability needed to expand workforce capacity and secure critical supply chains”.

The contract follows a warning from the Defence Department’s inspector general last month that “the munitions expenditure on Operation Epic Fury has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply”. Operation Epic Fury is the official name of the operation against Iran.

A Congressional Budget Office report on September 15 cited the hit to missile defence supplies, saying it “will leave the United States with a reduced inventory of interceptors for several years”.

Raytheon said on Wednesday that its SM-6 “has been successfully fired from various US Navy ship-based platforms and launchers on land”, calling it a “combat-proven weapon”.

“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,” said Raytheon President Phil Jasper.

The United States and Israel launched the war on February 28, and Washington is blockading Iran’s ports. The Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran by late November.

Sources: Gulf News