On Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the U.S. Navy’s technical command, acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, announced that on April 24 it had signed an 832,997,256 USD contract with Raytheon, part of RTX Corporation, for the production of another batch of RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSM) in the latest Block 2 version, including for 11 export users.
Photo: RTX
The missiles will enter service with the U.S. Navy, as well as the navies of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey.
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, the Kingdom of the 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%); Tomago, Australia (1%); Canton, New York (1%); Camden, Arkansas (1%); Aranjuez, Spain (1%); Milwaukie, Oregon (1%); and various other locations, each accounting for less than 1%, but totaling 9%. Completion is planned for September 2030.
The funding comes from U.S. Navy weapons procurement funds under the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act defense budget, in the amount of 413,302,253 USD (50%); other customer funds for FY 2026, in the amount of 409,228,809 USD (49%); and saved other customer and U.S. Navy funds from 2025 and 2024, totaling the remaining 10,466,194 USD.
Previous production contracts were signed on July 29, 2025, for 67,550,000 USD, November 22, 2024, for 439,075,000 USD, and September 27, 2024, for 525,539,000 USD.
RIM-162 ESSM Block 2
As a reminder, on October 1, 2025, RTX announced that it had delivered the 500th production RIM-162 ESSM Block 2 missile to the U.S. Navy.
The RIM-162 ESSM short-/medium-range surface-to-air missile system is the successor to the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow system. It entered service in 2004, using ESSM Block 1 missiles. They were integrated with conventional Mk 29 launchers, as well as Mk 41, Mk 48, Mk 56, and Mk 57 vertical launch systems. Its combat debut took place 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 from Yemen.
The ESSM Block 2 missiles discussed here are currently in production. Work on them began in 2014, and the first firing against aerial targets was conducted on July 5, 2018. They use the propulsion section from ESSM Block 1 and an enlarged guidance section, with a diameter of 25.4 cm. The missile features a new seeker equipped with a radar operating in both active X-band and semi-active modes. ESSM Block 2 offers increased maneuverability and, therefore, greater effectiveness. Its range remains unchanged at 50 km.
Outside the United States, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Finland, and Australia have so far decided to purchase the missiles, while orders should be expected from the remaining ESSM users within the international consortium, comprising 12 countries in total: Belgium, Canada, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal, and Turkey as well.
Interestingly, on July 6, 2023, BAE Systems announced that it had signed a contract with the U.S. DOTC consortium, on behalf of NATO’s NSPO program office, to develop a new shipboard launcher codenamed NGELS (Next Generation Evolved SeaSparrow Missile Launch System) for ESSM Block 2 missiles.