Raytheon Opens State-of-the-Art Missile Plant

Two missile mockups gleamed in the Alabama sun on Monday as local dignitaries, military leaders and Raytheon executives cut the ribbon on a factory that will soon play a key role in the U.S. missile defense program.

“This integration center, its employees and the innovative products we build here will indeed be national assets,” said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. “We recognize that countless lives may one day depend on these technologies.”

The new $75 million, 70,000 square-foot facility will produce the Standard Missile-3, a defensive weapon used to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It will also produce the Standard Missile-6, which defends naval vessels against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.

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