The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Raytheon Company a USD 559.2 million contract to produce Standard Missile-3 Block IB guided missiles that it will deploy to Romania as part of the U.S.'s missile defense shield in Europe.

Under this contract, Raytheon will initially deliver 44 missiles, but the number could increase to 52, according to a company statement.

The final assembly of the SM-3 Block IB will be performed at the company's production facility at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

The missiles will be then sent to the Deveselu military base in Romania, which hosts the anti-missile defense system that is part of the U.S.'s plan for missile defense in Europe.

The U.S. Navy and Romanian contractors are currently working on finishing the military base, which should become operational by the end of this year.

Raytheon Company is a technology and innovation company specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com