Raytheon, a major El Segundo employer, won a contract worth up to $24.4 billion to build Standard Missile-6 interceptors for the U.S. Navy.

The five-year deal, announced Thursday, Oct. 1, includes two additional option years. The award comes as the Pentagon pushes to replenish munitions stockpiles depleted by conflicts in the Middle East, Federal Times reported.

For El Segundo, the contract reinforces the city's role as a hub for defense work. A Department of Defense operational test report lists Raytheon's El Segundo campus as a major contractor site for multiple Navy programs. A separate Raytheon contract for the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band, awarded in 2024, confirmed active work in El Segundo through 2028.

The SM-6 is a ship-launched weapon that performs anti-air, anti-surface and ballistic missile defense. Raytheon, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, describes it as the only combat-proven weapon able to handle all three missions.

"We are removing constraints and boosting capacity to ensure we deliver this critical capability our sailors depend on," Raytheon President Phil Jasper said in the company's announcement.

Jasper said Raytheon has invested in workforce growth, supply-chain partnerships and production automation to meet rising demand.

The SM-6 deal follows a $20.7 billion provisional multiyear contract for Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), awarded Sept. 29, and a $58.6 billion Patriot interceptor deal Lockheed Martin received in July, Federal Times reported. The string of large awards is part of a broader Pentagon campaign to boost weapons production.

Under framework agreements Raytheon and the Department of War signed Feb. 4, RTX committed to increasing annual SM-6 production to more than 500 missiles. The deal is massive. RTX CEO Chris Calio said at the time that the agreements "redefine how government and industry can partner to speed the delivery of critical technologies."

Production under those framework agreements is slated for Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Arizona; Huntsville, Alabama; and Andover, Massachusetts. No source has confirmed whether SM-6 work under the new contract will also take place in El Segundo.

RTX reported 2025 sales exceeding $88 billion. The company employs more than 180,000 people worldwide.

Full funding for the SM-6 contract still depends on Congress. Industry executives have warned that lawmakers have not yet appropriated the money, according to Federal Times, meaning Raytheon may be unable to invest at scale in components and facilities until they act.