Raytheon interceptor scores hit in Navy test

One of Raytheon’s newest missile killers hit its mark in a recent test against a ballistic missile near the end of its flight.

The U.S. Navy fired two Standard Missile-6 Dual I guided missiles, developed by Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems, from the destroyer USS John Paul Jones during a test Wednesday off the coast of Hawaii.

The test resulted in a successful intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile in the terminal, or final, stage of the target missile’s flight, Raytheon said. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said the test met all of its objectives.

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The SM-6 Dual 1 succeeds the SM-2 Block IV missile as the Navy’s go-to weapon against enemy missiles nearing the end of their flight. Raytheon’s ship-based Standard Missile-3 is designed to engage ballistic missiles in mid-flight.

The SM-6 Dual, which is already in full-rate production, is on track to reach “final operating capability,” Raytheon said. The company said it has delivered more than 315 SM-6 missiles.