Tucson-based Raytheon unit to develop hypersonic anti-ship missile

Tucson-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense and rival Lockheed Martin have been awarded Navy contracts for initial development of a new long-range, hypersonic anti-ship missile.

The contracts, with a combined value of $116 million, fund development of the air-launched Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO) missile for use by carrier-based warplanes, the Naval Air Systems Command said.

The initial contracts run until December and fund technical development through a preliminary design review of the propulsion system required for a carrier-suitable hypersonic weapon system, with each company’s design review working towards a prototype flight test, NAVAIR said.

The Navy wants to field the HALO missile by 2029 to address advanced maritime threats and allow the Navy to operate in and control contested battle space.

“The U.S. Navy requires a highly capable and survivable weapon that’s adaptable for future relevance,” said Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “Raytheon’s open system architecture and digital engineering approaches will ensure we deliver this critical capability to the warfighter when they need it.”

The contract awards come as the Pentagon scrambles to develop hypersonic missiles — which fly faster than five times the speed of sound — in response to hypersonic missile advancements by Russia and China and concerns over China’s efforts to extend its naval power in the western Pacific Ocean.

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“As threat capability continues to advance, additional range, warfare capability and capacity is required to address the more demanding threat environment,” Capt. Richard Gensley, Precision Strike Weapons program manager at NAVAIR, said in prepared remarks.

The HALO missile is seen as a successor to Lockheed’s Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), in service since 2018 and currently fielded on the Navy’s F/A-18 and Air Force B-1B.

To bridge the gap until HALO is operational, the Navy recently funded an upgrade to the LRASM that will include missile hardware and software improvements to enhance targeting capabilities, NAVAIR said.

Raytheon has been involved in several hypersonic weapon development programs, and in September the company and partner Northrop Grumman were awarded a contract worth nearly $1 billion to develop the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile for the Air Force.

Last June, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon Missiles & Defense a contract to continue developing a first-of-its-kind counter-hypersonic missile known as the Glide Phase Interceptor, designed to intercept hypersonic weapons in the glide phase of flight.