"...The Defense Ministry is also considering deploying the Aegis-based SM-3 system on the ground, the sources said.
The ministry has already asked Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to conduct research on how to operate the THAAD system and ground-based SM-3 interceptors..."
Reference: www.japantimes.co.jp
.
"...MDA is also rightly targeting a longer-term solution in the "multiple kill vehicle," but Congress should resist any urge to skip the critical interim step of developing and deploying the redesigned kill vehicle by 2018. This redesign is hardly a "band-aid" as some have reported; it will provide performance enhancements and reliability upgrades by leveraging existing Standard Missile-3 technology. This is the lowest-risk, lowest-cost option to ensure our homeland is protecting in the near-term. ..."
Reference: thehill.com
.
"...Delivering both SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors, Raytheon's new $75 million, 70,000 square-foot, all-up-round production facility at Redstone Arsenal features advanced tools and the latest processes for missile production. The facility enables Raytheon to streamline processes, reduce costs and add value for the warfighter...."
Reference: www.yourindustrynews.com
.
"...Raytheon Missile Systems, Southern Arizona's largest private employer, had first-quarter 2013 net sales of $1.45 billion, up 8 percent compared to $1.35 billion in the first quarter of 2012.
The increase in net sales was primarily driven by higher sales on the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) and Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) programs...."
Reference: azstarnet.com
.
"...The test took place at a shore-based Dutch facility and marked a key step toward enabling more European ships to employ the full range of missiles within the Standard Missile family, including the Standard Missile-3...."
Reference: www.dailymarkets.com
.
"...The 55,000-square-foot Raytheon facility opened its doors last month in Huntsville, Ala., to produce the Standard Missile-3 and SM-6, interceptors used by the U.S. Navy to shoot down ballistic missiles. The factory stands as unique because of its heavy use of autonomous transport vehicles that carry missile components throughout the factory..."
Reference: www.businessweek.com
.
"...This Agreement calls for the establishment and operation of a U.S. land-based SM-3 ballistic missile defense (BMD) system in Romania. The deployment to Romania is anticipated to occur in the 2015 timeframe as part of the second phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA)...."
Reference: www.state.gov .
"...Another version, the SM-3 Block IB, will feature an improved kinetic kill vehicle - a nonexplosive warhead that destroys a target by sheer impact - by 2012 and will be adapted to a ground-based system by 2015...."
Reference: azstarnet.com .
"...HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Work could soon begin on the Raytheon plant at Redstone Arsenal that will assemble and test the company's SM-3 and SM-6 "Standard Missiles."..."
Reference: al.com .
"...Starting around 2011, this missile defense architecture will feature deployments of increasingly-capable sea- and land-based missile interceptors, primarily upgraded versions of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), and a range of sensors in Europe to defend against the growing ballistic missile threat from Iran. This phased approach develops the capability to augment our current protection of the U.S. homeland against long-range ballistic missile threats, and to offer more effective defenses against more near-term ballistic missile threats. The plan provides for the defense of U.S. deployed forces, their families, and our Allies in Europe sooner and more comprehensively than the previous program, and involves more flexible and survivable systems...."
Reference: www.whitehouse.gov .