By Marina Malenic
LONDON—Raytheon‘s [RTN] plan to build a new missile facility in Huntsville, Ala., could contribute to a booming aerospace sector on the Gulf Coast, officials from the state said yesterday.
“I think you are going to see Alabama become a part of an aerospace corridor that is developing all across the Gulf Coast,” said Alabama Governor Bob Riley (R).
Riley was speaking at a press conference at the Farnborough Air Show outside London after Raytheon executives announced that they would break ground this year on a Standard Missile manufacturing facility.
Raytheon will use the facility for final assembly and testing of Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-6. SM-3 production is expected to increase substantially in the next 10 years under the Obama administration’s new “phased adaptive” approach to missile defense. SM-6 production is expected to begin in 2010, Raytheon executives said.
“Raytheon’s SM-3 is the centerpiece of the nation’s new missile defense strategy, and SM-6 will give the U.S. Navy a new, much-needed weapon system,” said Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. “Combining SM-3 and SM-6 manufacturing into one facility will enable Raytheon to increase productivity and efficiency.”
The company plans to build the 70,000-square-foot facility in two phases, dependent upon production contracts with the Pentagon. Groundbreaking is expected later this year, Lawrence said, and will bring “hundreds” of jobs to the area.
SM-3 is being developed as part of the Missile Defense Agency’s sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system. The missiles are deployed on Navy cruisers and destroyers and Japanese destroyers to defend against short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in the ascent and midcourse phases of flight.
SM-6 is an extended range anti-air warfare missile. Fired from Navy ships, SM-6 provides over-the-horizon capabilities against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.
“The SM-3 is a vital component of our nation’s missile defense strategy,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).
Alabama officials are also eagerly anticipating a decision in the Air Force tanker contest. The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) is competing with Boeing [BA] for the contract to provide refueling tankers to the Air Force. EADS plans to build their KC-45 tankers at a facility in Mobile, if it is chosen to do the work.