The U.S. Navy finished a series of guided flight tests for the Raytheon [RTN] Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2A surface-to-air missile, the company said Tuesday.
The RAM is designed to provide anti-ship missile defense for different naval platforms. It is a cooperative program with Germany and the Block 2 variant is designed to counter anti-ship cruise missile threats faced by U.S. and allied forces. These recent tests demonstrated improved guidance and targeting for the RAM.
Development, production, and maintenance costs for RAM are shared by Raytheon and Germany’s RAMSYS.
The Block 2A tests occurred at the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, Calif., and from the Navy’s self-defense test ship off the coast of southern California.
Raytheon noted the latest software upgrade to RAM “enhances guidance and the missile’s capability to defeat threats.”
The company said it expects to deliver the Block 2A missile to the U.S. Navy by the end of 2019.
Last year Raytheon won a $242 million contract for RAM Block 2 guided missile round pack for combined purchases for the U.S. Navy as well as Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey (Defense Daily, May 11, 2018)
In March, Raytheon won a $92 million award option for FY ’19 procurement of RAM Block 2 round pack and space replacement components (Defense Daily, March 8).
The RAM is currently deployed to eight countries and over 165 ships.