The Navy awarded Raytheon Technologies [RTX] a $358 million contract Sept. 29 in support of the fiscal year 2021-2023 Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) Block 2 full-rate production requirements.
The ESSM is an international cooperative medium-range ship-launched self-defense missile. It is an upgrade of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile as part of a 12-country NATO international consortium. It is the longest running cooperative weapons program in NATO.
The contract includes options that, if exercised at maximum quantities, would raise the total value of the contract to nearly $1.3 billion.
The weapon had previously been in low-rate initial production contracts while the older ESSM Block 1 is in service as a semi-active guided missile.
This base contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy as well as Canada, Australia, Greece, Germany, Norway, Turkey, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark under the NATO Seasparrow Consortium.
Contract work will largely be split among Tucson, Ariz. (46 percent); Edinburgh, Australia (eight percent); San Jose, Calif. (seven percent); Raufoss, Norway (seven percent); and Mississauga, Canada (six percent), with remaining work performed throughout the consortium members. The work is expected to be finished by March 2025, but if all options are exercised it will continue through March 2027.
At the time of award funds were obligated and split among $189 million in fiscal year 2021 other customer funds (53 percent); $156 million in FY ‘21 Navy weapons procurement (44 percent); and $13 million in FY ‘20 other customer funds (three percent).
The contract was not competitively procured in accordance with U.S. Code regulations regarding international agreements.