Raytheon Company won the first of several planned low rate initial production (LRIP) contracts to build Standard Missile-6 systems for the U.S. Navy.

The $93 million contract includes the production of missiles and delivery of spare parts and missile containers. Delivery will begin in early 2011.

SM-6 will meet the U.S. Navy’s requirement for an extended-range anti-air warfare (AAW) missile. The system will provide a defensive capability against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and anti-ship cruise missiles.

“When combined with future integrated fire control, SM-6 will provide the U.S. Navy with an extended battlespace capability against over-the-horizon AAW threats,” said Wyatt. “By taking full advantage of the Standard Missile family’s kinematics, SM-6 provides signal processing and superior guidance and control capabilities.”

SM-6 also allows the use of active and semi-active modes and advanced fuzing techniques.

This contract award was originally announced by the Department of Defense Sept. 4, 2009.