US to Spend Almost $1.5Bln on Missile Defense Contracts for Aegis, SM-3 Systems, Pentagon Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US government is going to spend more than $1.4 billion on two new development and sustainment Missile Defense Agency (MDA) contracts for its Aegis and Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) systems, the Department of Defense said in two press releases.

"Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems [of] Moorestown, New Jersey, is being awarded a ... contract ... [worth] $724,001,438 [to] conduct full development and lifecycle engineering for the Aegis Weapon System fielding for cruisers, destroyers and Aegis Ashore configurations," the first release said on Friday.

The contract will cover ballistic missile defence ground and flight test support, modelling and simulation support, Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex combat system engineering, testing, site support, modernization, technical and logistics support as well as Aegis BMD ship installation and planning, the release said.

Also, Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, Arizona is being awarded a $722.4 million MDA nine-year contract for a ceiling to provide sustaining engineering and product support services of the Standard Missile-3 Block missile variants for the US and Foreign Military Sales partners, a second press release said on Friday.

The Department of Defense said work on the contract will be performed in Tucson, Arizona; and Huntsville, Alabama and is scheduled to be completed by October 29, 2029.