Raytheon Gets $64Mln for Tech Support of US Navy's Anti-Missile Gatling Gun

Raytheon has been awarded a $65 million contract for engineering and technical support services for the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), and Land-based Phalanx Weapon System and the SeaRAM, the US Department of Defense said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The firm was awarded a contract for design agent engineering and technical support services for the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), SeaRAM, and Land-based Phalanx Weapon System, according to the release.

The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $398.6 million, according to the release.

The ship and shore Phalanx CIWS is a Gatling gun, fast-reaction terminal defense against low- and high-flying, high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats that have penetrated all other defenses, the release explained.

The SeaRAM system is an 11-missile launcher assembly that replaces the Phalanx system’s 20 mm gun with Raytheon's RAM missile.

The RAM is a supersonic, lightweight, quick-reaction, fire-and-forget weapon designed to destroy anti-ship missiles.

The missile requires no additional direction upon launch and its passive radio frequency and infrared guidance provide high-firepower capability for engaging multiple threats simultaneously.