The Pentagon has signed two framework agreements with Boeing and RTX to expand production of critical components for the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), the Navy's primary ship-launched interceptor against ballistic missiles.
The deals cover avionics and ejector assemblies that Boeing supplies to prime contractor Raytheon, an RTX business, for both the SM-3 Block IB and the newer Block IIA. Both variants work with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System to destroy incoming missiles outside the atmosphere.
"These agreements ensure our Warfighters get the munitions they need to win," said Michael P. Duffey, under secretary of war for acquisition and sustainment, in a Pentagon release. "We are stabilizing our supply chains, expanding munitions production and putting our entire defense industrial base on a wartime footing."
The frameworks are set to run for seven years and will allow Boeing to begin building components before a contract is finalized, while the three parties negotiate a multiyear deal. This long-term commitment is intended to provide suppliers with enough certainty to invest in increased capacity. Neither the Pentagon nor Boeing has disclosed specific dollar figures or quantities.
"This gives us a clear demand signal to build and deliver SM-3 interceptors at the levels needed to counter threats," said Bob Ciesla, vice president of Boeing Precision Engagement Systems, in a company statement. "The SM-3 is an essential part of the layered air and missile defense architecture that protects the U.S. and its allies worldwide."
This approach is similar to a seven-year deal Boeing secured in April to triple the production of PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement seekers, which is part of a broader Pentagon initiative to secure supply from key subcontractors alongside the prime contractors.
Earlier this month, the Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon a $745 million contract to produce fully assembled SM-3 Block IIA interceptors for the United States and Japan.
Demand for the interceptor increased significantly in April 2024, when Navy destroyers first fired SM-3s in combat, helping to thwart an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel. Since then, many more interceptors have been launched, including during Operation Epic Fury.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated the SM-3 inventory at 414 as of December 2025. A May analysis from the center indicated that wartime expenditures ranged between 130 and 250 missiles and warned that replenishment would take years.
Congress has intervened to keep the Block IB line operational, the less expensive of the two variants covered by Friday's agreements, after the Missile Defense Agency proposed ending new purchases in its fiscal 2025 budget request.
