Raytheon's Redstone Arsenal missile facility celebrates 100th SM-6, second anniversary

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An SM-6 missile is loaded into a specialized container at Redstone Arsenal's Raytheon Redstone Missile Integration Facility for delivery to the U.S. Navy. (Contributed photo/Raytheon)

It's been two years since Raytheon opened its missile testing and integration facility inside the gates of Redstone Arsenal. The anniversary came just weeks after the facility marked another milestone - the production of its 100

th

Standard Missile-6.

Both events are just the latest accomplishments for the state-of-the-art facility.

100th missile

The facility's busy schedule meant it almost missed the 100th missile mark, said facilities manager Angel Crespo.

"We're busy with moving hardware and what we have to do and in the third week of September, all our eyes are on finishing the quarter. Then one of the guys mentioned that one of the missile on the floor would end up being our 100th," Crespo said. "That's when I realized we had a milestone on our hand."

Crespo said the original plan was to have one giant missile-sized cake but that proved to be too difficult. Instead, the company opted for three or four cakes and had a birthday party of sorts celebrating the 100th missile.

Second anniversary

Raytheon's $75 million, 70,000 square-foot production facility opened in November 2012. The facility produces the Standard Missile-6 and a second version, the SM-3. The first SM-6 was sold in February 2013 with the SM-3 following in May.

In March, the company further expanded capabilities with a new testing cell to boost capabilities by as much as 30 percent.

Used by the U.S. Navy, the SM-6 is an extended range anti-air warfare missile that provides over-the-horizon capabilities against fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. The SM-3 is part of the Missile Defense Agency's sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system and is used by the U.S. and Japanese navies to defend against short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

The facility has operated on schedule, Crespo said, and now provides 100 percent of the test fires used by the Navy. Crespo said testing success of the missile is giving the Missile Defense Agency and the Navy the confidence to step up production and the facility itself is making sure it can produce them at the desired rate.

The current programs that are under production are seeing their quantities go up, Crespo said, a good sign for the facility.

"Our future is bright regardless of new programs," Crespo said.

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