A Defense Acquisition Board approved full-rate production of Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-6. Once operational in 2013, the SM-6 will provide U.S. Navy vessels extended range protection against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.

"SM-6 is a game-changing, transformational fleet defense missile, and we're on track to reach initial operating capability this year," said Wes Kremer, Raytheon Missile Systems' vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems.

"This is a monumental moment for the SM-6 program and signifies a new era of fleet defense for our naval warfighters."

In February, Raytheon delivered the first SM-6 from its new $75 million, 70,000 square-foot SM-6 and Standard Missile-3 all-up-round production facility at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.

The facility features advanced tools and the latest processes for missile production, enabling Raytheon to streamline processes, reduce costs and add value for the warfighter.

"The first delivery of low-rate initial production rounds to the U.S. Navy was in February 2011, which was six months ahead of contract," said Mike Campisi, Raytheon's senior director of Standard Missile-1, -2, and -6 programs.

"The first full-rate production Standard Missile-6 is on track for an April 2015 delivery, which is three months ahead of contract."