Raytheon and Mitsubishi sign contract for Block 2 missile production
NewsJune 24, 2025
TUCSON, Ariz. Raytheon announced that it won a contract worth $250 million with Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) for ESSM Block 2 licensed production.
Under the terms of the direct commercial sale pact, Raytheon (an RTX company) is tasked with providing missile kits, parts, and components as well as technical support for missile production at MELCO in Japan. Japan is a customer nation of the ESSM guided missile, which is managed by the 12-member NATO SEASPARROW Consortium.
ESSM Block 2 is a short- to medium-range, ship-launched, dual-mode, guided missile; the Block 2 variant reduces dependence on shipboard illumination and is integrated on a wide variety of combat systems and launchers, which the company says improves performance in marine environments. It also possesses enhanced digital-processing margins to keep pace with evolving threats through software improvements.
The Raytheon announcement states that MELCO and Raytheon have a longstanding partnership spanning over 50 years on critical defense programs.
