US defense major Raytheon announced that its missile systems business reached a $1 billion agreement with Aerojet Rocketdyne for the delivery of propulsion systems for Raytheon’s Standard Missile family.
Raytheon said the five-year strategic agreement represented a supply chain centerpiece of multi-year Standard Missiles contracts that Raytheon recently received.
“Moving to multi-year, rather than annual-year contracting enables Raytheon and its supply chain to deliver even more value to our Missile Defense Agency and US Navy customers, and the taxpayer,” said Eugene Jaramillo, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Global Supply Chain Management. “These multi-year agreements also allow our suppliers to transform the way they do business with Raytheon.”
Aerojet Rocketdyne supplies the majority of the solid rocket motors for these systems for the SM-2 missile, SM-3 interceptor and SM-6 missiles. Also, for SM-3, the company produces the Divert and Attitude Control System, a high-precision, quick-reaction propulsion system that positions the interceptor to defeat incoming ballistic missiles.
“Aerojet Rocketdyne has supported one or more variants of the Standard Missile program for more than three decades; we are proud of our contributions to these vital defense products,” said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. “This significant agreement on multi-year contracts strengthens our current relationship and positions Aerojet Rocketdyne favorably for future business opportunities and continued growth.”
Work on the programs will be spread across Aerojet Rocketdyne sites in Orange County, Virginia, the Solid Rocket Motor Center of Excellence in Camden, Arkansas, and at its Advanced Manufacturing Facility in Huntsville, Alabama. Raytheon produces SM-2 in Tucson, and SM-3 and SM-6 in Huntsville.
