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Finnish Ministry of Defense The U.S. State Department recently approved the potential sale to Finland of more than $800 million worth of RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, Mk 41 vertical launch systems, and other associated items. Depending on how that country decides to proceed with its Squadron 2020 naval modernization program, some of those systems could go into a new class of ice-breaking multi-purpose corvettes, as well as end up on older ships as part of various planned upgrade projects. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the U.S. military’s main foreign military sales office, announced the...

The NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium is decades old and still going very strong. The highly maneuverable RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) has been protecting allied surface combatants and their escorts for nearly 15 years now around the globe and is seen as a huge success. Before that, the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, itself an adaptation of the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile, had served since the mid 1970s, protecting everything from American supercarriers to allied frigates from airborne threats and short to medium-ranges. Now the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Block II is on the way, with its first test firings having...

Japan is interested in joining a NATO missile building consortium that would give Tokyo its first taste of a multinational defense project, a move the U.S. Navy is encouraging because it could pave the way for Japan to lead similar partnerships in Asia, sources said. The 12-country NATO consortium oversees development and shares the costs of the SeaSparrow missile, an advanced ship-borne weapon designed to destroy anti-ship sea-skimming missiles and attack aircraft. The missile is made by U.S. weapons firms Raytheon (RTN.N) and General Dynamics (GD.N). In May, Japanese naval officers traveled to a North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting in...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper settled a dispute between Treasury Board and the Defence Department to approve an $800-million, sole-source purchase of next-generation Sea Sparrow missiles for the Royal Canadian Navy’s aging frigates, sources familiar with the situation say. The decision was taken early this week following a written request earlier this month by three ministers — Industry Minister James Moore, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson and Public Works Minister Diane Finley — that won out over the objections of Treasury Board president Tony Clement, sources say. The Sea Sparrow is built by U.S.-based Raytheon. The next-generation version, the Evolved Sea Sparrow...

HENGELO, Netherlands --- Equipped with Thales’s Active Phased Array Radar (APAR), the Royal Danish Navy’s HDMS Peter Willemoes performed live firing trials to demonstrate its air defence capabilities. The trial, executed on 21 November 2013, consisted of four Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles being directed by APAR to four targets. The trial was successful: all launched missiles performed a successful intercept. In the first part of the trial, a Banshee drone was eliminated by a missile launched by HDMS Peter Willemoes. With pinpoint accuracy APAR guided the missile to the target, resulting in a successful threat elimination. Subsequently, three Banshee drones...

TUCSON, Ariz., May 6, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $162.7 million contract for production of the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) for the U.S. Navy and nine other allied nations. An international cooperative upgrade of the RIM-7 NATO SeaSparrow Missile, ESSM provides self-defense battlespace and firepower against high-speed, highly maneuverable anti-ship missiles. The contract calls for production of 251 missiles, associated spares and shipping containers for Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway and the U.S. by October 2007. Forty-five percent of the work will be done by Raytheon and 55 percent by Raytheon's international partners. ESSM is...