Raytheon [RTN] chose to work with Ducommun [DCO] to build the fire control systems for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), Raytheon said Monday.
The NSM is a long-range anti-ship and land-attack missile that originates with a missile design developed in by Kongsberg for the Royal Norwegian Navy. The long-range missile can hit enemy targets up to 100 miles away, flies at a very low altitude over the water or other terrain, performs evasive maneuvers to counter defensive systems, and uses a programmable fuze warhead.
Kongsberg is working with Raytheon to offer the NSM as an offensive capability for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and future frigate over-the-horizon (OTH) missile requirement. Other major competitors Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] withdrew from that competition in May (Defense Daily, June 23).
Raytheon is building a manufacturing and supplier set for U.S. production of the NSM as it gears up for a likely U.S. Navy contract award.
“As one of America’s best technology manufacturers, Ducommun brings the right expertise to the NSM program. Producing NSM in the United States is a win all the way around for American jobs, our men and women in uniform, and it’s a great value for the Navy,” Mike Jarrett, Raytheon vice president for Air Warfare Systems, said in a statement.
The fire control systems work is set to support manufacturing jobs at Ducommun’s facilities in Berryville and Huntsville, Ala., with work expected to start in late 2017.
Ducommun’s president and CEO, Stephen Oswald, noted the companies already have a long term partnerships.
“Ducommun’s longstanding partnership with Raytheon is built on trust and a demand for excellence so that our sailors have the most sophisticated, mission critical tools at their command,” he said in a statement.