WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M., June 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- During its final land-based test, Raytheon's advanced Standard Missile-6 Block IA engaged and destroyed a subsonic target from the USS Desert Ship, a test site in southern New Mexico. The SM-6 Block IA will now enter the at-sea testing phase, bringing it closer to low-rate initial production later this year.

The SM-6 Block IA is an emerging change to SM-6 BLK 1, with improvements to the guidance section. These enhancements allow the missile to seek out and destroy a wide variety of advanced threats with precision.

"The Block IA brings a new level of sophistication to the SM-6 and increases the precision of the missile even more," said Mike Campisi, Raytheon's SM-6 senior program director. "Relying less on a ship combat system means the missile can continue to engage targets further and further away with extreme accuracy."

SM-6 is the only missile in the world that can perform anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, and terminal ballistic missile defense.

Final assembly of SM-6 takes place at Raytheon's state-of-the-art production facility at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. Raytheon has delivered approximately 340 SM-6 missiles with continuing production.

About Raytheon
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2016 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 95 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I^™ products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter.

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SOURCE Raytheon Company