On Tuesday, July 29, 2025, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington, on behalf of the Department of Defense, signed a 67,550,000 USD contract with Raytheon (a subsidiary of RTX Corporation) for the serial production of RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSM) in the Block 2 variant.
Photo: US Navy
The work will be carried out in Tucson, Arizona (12%); Edinburgh, Australia (11%); Mississauga, Canada (10%); San Jose, California (9%); Raufoss, Norway (9%); Hengelo OV, Netherlands (5%); Ottobrunn, Germany (5%); Cambridge, Canada (4%); Nashua, New Hampshire (4%); Koropi Attica, Greece (3%); Lystrup, Denmark (2%); Ankara, Turkey (2%); Andover, Massachusetts (2%); Torrance, California (2%); Westlake Village, California (2%); Grenaa, Denmark (2%); Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane, Australia (2%); Canton, New York (1%); Camden, Arkansas (1%); Aranjuez, Spain (1%); Milwaukie, Oregon (1%); and various other locations, each accounting for less than 1% (10%). Completion of work is scheduled for September 2030. The funds come entirely from Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year (September 30, 2025).
On May 19 of this year, the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Denmark announced it would accelerate plans to purchase a second batch of RIM-162 ESSM Block 2 missiles for deployment on two classes of naval vessels: three Iver Huitfeldt-class air-defense frigates and two Absalon-class support ships (frigates) of the Royal Danish Navy (Søværnet).
The previous two production contracts were signed on November 22, 2024, for 439,075,000 USD, and on September 27, 2024, for 525,539,000 USD.
The RIM-162 ESSM, a short-to-medium-range surface-to-air missile system, is the successor to the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow. It entered service in 2004, utilizing ESSM Block 1 missiles, which were integrated with traditional Mk 29 launchers, as well as vertical launch systems, including Mk 41, Mk 48, Mk 56, and Mk 57. The system saw its combat debut on October 9, 2016, when the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mason (DDG-87) repelled an attack involving C-802 anti-ship missiles launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Currently, ESSM Block 2 missiles are in production. Development began in 2014, and the first live-fire test against aerial targets took place on July 5, 2018. The missile uses the same propulsion section as ESSM Block 1, but features an enlarged guidance section with a diameter of 25.4 cm. It is equipped with a new dual-mode seeker, operating in the X-band with both active and semi-active radar guidance. ESSM Block 2 offers improved maneuverability, enhancing its effectiveness. The range remains unchanged at 50 km. In addition to the United States and Denmark, other countries that have opted to purchase ESSM Block 2 include the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, and Australia. Further orders are expected from other members of the 10-nation international ESSM consortium, which also includes Canada, Germany, Greece, Norway, and Turkey.
In December 2018, Raytheon Technologies (now part of RTX Corporation) received a 32 million USD contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to procure materials for the Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase of the ESSM Block 2, covering the consortium’s requirements.
On July 6, 2023, BAE Systems announced it had signed a contract with the U.S. DOTC (Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium), commissioned by NATO’s NSPO program office, to develop a new naval launcher, codenamed NGELS (Next Generation Evolved SeaSparrow Missile Launch System), for the ESSM Block 2. However, a statement from the Finnish Navy did not specify whether these new launchers would be installed on their future corvettes.