USN exercises contract option for Over-the-Horizon Weapon System
USS Gabrielle Giffords fires a Naval Strike Missile. (Photo: USN/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Rodriguez Santiago)
USN long-range anti-ship missile programme progresses with latest contract option for Raytheon.
Naval Sea Systems Command is exercising a contract option for Raytheon Missiles & Defense to manufacture and deliver the Over-the-Horizon Weapon System (OTH-WS).
The latest $99.53 million contract modification, to be completed by May 2024, includes ‘encanistered missiles loaded into launching mechanisms and a single fire-control suite’, the DoD announced on 17 May.
OTH-WS was announced in May 2018 with a total value of $847.61 million.
It is a long-range, surface-to-surface missile system intended to engage ships ‘both inside and beyond the radar horizon’, according to USN documents in the public domain.
The standalone OTH-WS requires minimal integration into host platforms. It comprises an operator interface console, the Naval Strike Missile and a launching system.
OTH-WS receives targeting data via tactical communications from combatant platforms or airborne sensors and requires no guidance after launch.
The USN plans to enhance its anti-surface warfare capabilities by integrating OTH-WS aboard vessels such as Littoral Combat Ships and Constellation-class guided-missile frigates.
This article was amended on 26 May after the DoD revised the contract option value
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