Raytheon to Upgrade Naval Weapon Systems Under $160M Contract

An RTX (NYSE: RTX) business will upgrade the U.S. Navy’s MK 15 Close-In Weapon Systems under a firm-fixed-price contract valued at $159.9 million. 

Raytheon will supply MK 15 Mod 31 SeaRAM upgrade kits and associated hardware to the service branch over a three-year period, the Department of Defense said Friday.

The military and aerospace technology company’s work on the sole-source contract will be conducted in several sites across the United States, including its Tcson, Arizona location, and Ottobrunn, Germany. The anticipated completion date of the modernization is in October 2027. 

The Naval Sea Systems Command at Washington Navy Yard serves as the contracting activity.

The MK 15 Phalanx is a weapon system designed for autonomously searching, detecting, evaluating, tracking and engaging anti-ship missiles, enemy aircraft and other littoral warfare threats. The current variant Block 1B equips the platform with a stabilized Electro Optic sensor to counter asymmetric warfare threats. 

Often called the “last line of defense,” the CIWS is installed on all U.S. Navy surface combatant ship classes.

Although the Phalanx program began in the ‘70s, the weapon system continues to protect naval vessels from maritime threats. In January, the MK 15 rapid-firing weapon on the Navy destroyer USS Gravely shot down a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile in the Red Sea.

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