Raytheon Awarded $745.4 Million Deal for SM-3 Interceptors for U.S., Japan

The Missile Defense Agency gave Raytheon a noncompetitive contract to build Standard Missile-3 Block IIA rounds, with work in Arizona and Alabama due by Feb. 28, 2031.

First Published: August 7, 2026, 1:26 PM ET

TUCSON, ARIZONA — Raytheon, the Tucson, Arizona, defense contractor, received a $745.4 million contract to build Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptors for the United States and Japan, the Pentagon said, as announced on war.gov.

The noncompetitive, undefinitized award carries a base value of $745.4 million and covers manufacture and assembly of Standard Missile-3 Block IIA All-Up Rounds for the U.S. government and the Japan Ministry of Defense through a Foreign Military Sales case, according to war.gov. The award obligates fiscal 2026 procurement funds of $275.6 million and Japanese Foreign Military Sales funds of $277.7 million, according to war.gov. The Missile Defense Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, serves as the contracting activity, and Raytheon will perform the work in Tucson and Huntsville with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2031, according to war.gov.

The Standard Missile-3 Block IIA is a ship- and land-based interceptor that destroys short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in space, a capability the two allies jointly developed. The award reinforces a partnership that pairs the largest missile-defense buyer in the Pacific with a U.S. supplier, giving Japan continued access to the interceptor that anchors its Aegis defense network. Washington gains a wider production base and a shared cost, while Tokyo secures rounds it cannot build alone. A noncompetitive award means no rival firm bid for the work, a common practice when a single contractor holds the design and tooling.

The contract marks Raytheon‘s 11th award in 2026 and lifts the company’s total contract value for the year to $12.2 billion, according to firestore records compiled by NewsFindr. It stands as the 24th Department of Defense contract awarded in Arizona during 2026 and ranked among nine such contracts issued nationwide on August 7, 2026. The deal trails Raytheon’s largest-ever award of $8.4 billion and the Missile Defense Agency’s year-to-date maximum of $35.3 billion, while topping the agency’s smallest 2026 award of $11 million. Missile-defense cooperation between Washington and Tokyo isn’t the first time the two capitals have joined forces against a shared threat. The allies began co-developing the SM-3 Block IIA in 2006, and a Japanese-funded flight test destroyed a target in space in 2017, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. That collaboration produced the interceptor now at the center of this award, cementing Japan’s role as the program’s principal foreign partner.

This contract represents the 11th contract awarded to Raytheon, in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $12,211,519,701. It is also the 24th Department of Defense contract awarded in Arizona during 2026. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to Raytheon, whose record stands at $8,410,280,000, it is notable within the Missile Defense Agency portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Missile Defense Agency portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $10,981,581 and maximum of $35,327,237,604. Overall, this award was announced among 9 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 7, 2026.