Raytheon Company’s advanced Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) Block IA, an offensive and defensive missile system, aced its final land-based test this week after engaging and destroying a subsonic target from a test site in southern New Mexico.
With this success, the SM-6 Block IA will now move to at-sea testing, which positions the system closer to low-rate initial production later this year. It is the only missile in the world that can perform anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, and terminal ballistic missile defense.
“The Block IA brings a new level of sophistication to the SM-6 and increases the precision of the missile even more,” Mike Campisi, Raytheon’s SM-6 senior program director, said. “Relying less on a ship combat system means the missile can continue to engage targets further and further away with extreme accuracy.”
Raytheon, a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions, has delivered approximately 340 SM-6 missiles with continuing production. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Raytheon has been innovating military and government technologies for 95 years, with 2016 sales reaching $24 billion.
The SM-6 is finalized at Raytheon’s production facility at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.