Raytheon receives Long Range Precision Fires contract

Raytheon has contracted with the U.S. Army for the maturation and risk reduction phase -- a series of tests to ensure missile components are ready for construction -- of the Long Range Precision Fires program. Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin

June 14 (UPI) — Raytheon has received a $116 million contract from the U.S. Army to enter the maturation and risk-reduction phase of the Long Range Precision Fires program.

The maturation and risk reduction phase is a series of tests of all missile components to ensure readiness for construction, with live-fire tests of the weapon, by the end of 2019.

“Raytheon can develop, test, and field this new capability and deliver it to the Army ahead of current expectations to replace aging weapons,” Dr. Thomas Bussing, vice president of Raytheon’s advanced missile systems product line, said in a press release.

The LRPF DeepStrike is a surface-to-surface battlefield missile with a range of up to 300 km, and is designed so that two missiles can be fired from the same pod. It will replace the venerable Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, as the primary long-range surface-to-surface missile of the U.S. Army.

The LRPF will supplement existing M270 MLRS and HIMARS battlefield missile and rocket systems, and can also be adapted as an anti-ship weapon due to its modular design.

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