Raytheon Co. announced on Tuesday it was chosen to integrate the Naval Strike Force Missile into the U.S. Marine Corps' existing structure.

The missile, which can be launched from land or sea, is a precision-strike armament which can fly at very low altitudes, and detect and destroy targets at long distances.

The Navy uses the missile on littoral combat ships as an anti-ship weapon, and its selection by the Marine Corps improves interoperability and reduces costs and logistical problems.

The $47.6 million contract comes under an agreement through the Marine Corps' Other Transaction Authority, a term used to refer to the authority of the Department of Defense to carry out certain prototype, research and production projects.

The Other Transaction category was created to give the Defense Department the flexibility necessary to adopt and incorporate business practices that reflect commercial industry standards and best practices into its award instruments.

"This fifth-generation missile adds another dimension for sea control operations and for protection from adversary warships," Kim Ernzen, vice president of Raytheon Air Warfare Systems, said in a statement.

The Naval Strike Force Missile was developed by Raytheon and its partner, Norway-based Kongsburg.

"We are very pleased to expand the user community. The NSM is now selected by the US Navy and Marine Corps, Norwegian, Polish and Malaysian Navies from both ships and land-based coastal defense. It is an off-the-shelf and non-developmental 5th generation strike missile system that can be rapidly deployed for operational use," Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace AS, said in a company statement.

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