On Friday, September 5, 2025, the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, signed a contract worth 205,113,738 USD with Raytheon (part of RTX Corporation) for continued support and modernization of the 20 mm Mk 15 Phalanx close-in weapon systems (CIWS).
The Mk 15 Phalanx system aboard the USS Monterey (CG-61), a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser decommissioned in 2022 / Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class William Weinert, U.S. Navy
The contract provides for the purchase of upgrade, conversion, overhaul, and equipment packages for the system, which is in service on nearly all U.S. Navy surface combatants (except Zumwalt-class destroyers and San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks – ed. note).
The work will be carried out in Louisville, Kentucky (34%); El Segundo, California (10%); Tucson, Arizona (5%); Andover, Massachusetts (4%); Colchester, Vermont (3%); Mason, Ohio (3%); Grand Rapids, Michigan (2%); Tempe, Arizona (2%); Palo Alto, California (2%); Norcross, Georgia (2%); San Diego, California (2%); Ottobrunn, Germany (2%); Joplin, Missouri (1%); Hauppauge, New York (1%); Grantsburg, Wisconsin (1%); Exeter, New Hampshire (1%); Pomona, California (1%); Galena, Kansas (1%); and various other locations, each with less than 1% (23%). Completion is planned for January 2029.
Funding comes from the FY2025 NDAA defense budget: 66,109,126 USD (32%) from U.S. Navy operations and support funds; 63,000,000 USD (31%) from other U.S. Army procurement funds; 29,752,620 USD (15%) from FY2024 U.S. Navy weapons procurement savings; and 46,002,060 USD (22%) from other current Navy funds. Of these, 66,109,126 USD will expire at the end of the current fiscal year (September 30).
Thirty-one percent of the contract value is funded from the Army budget, since it operates the land-based Centurion C-RAM (Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar) systems, also known as the Land Phalanx Weapon System (LPWS), which are derived from the Mk 15 Phalanx. Separately, on June 27 of this year, the U.S. Army Contracting Command signed a contract worth 279,201,818 USD with Raytheon for continued support of their operation.
Both systems use the 20 mm six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan Gatling gun with a theoretical rate of fire of 3,000–4,500 rounds per minute, an effective range of 2,000 m, and a maximum range of 2,300 m. However, the naval system uses Mk 244 ELC tungsten-core armor-piercing rounds, designed to destroy targets through kinetic impact. They are effective against anti-ship missiles and surface targets at an effective distance of about 1.5–2 km. The system is equipped with a Ku-band radar. In the Block 1B variant, a manual mode and a FLIR electro-optical tracking system were added for improved effectiveness against drones and small surface craft. In service with the U.S. Navy since 1980, it has also been adopted by 15 other navies worldwide.
