The US Department of Defense has awarded a contract to Raytheon to support the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) Squad X Core Technologies (SXCT) programme.

Valued at $2.5m, the phase one contract requires Raytheon to develop new technologies to enhance the efficacy and security of infantry squads.

Darpa’s SXCT programme aims to accelerate the development of lightweight, integrated systems to give infantry squads greater awareness, adaptability and flexibility in complex environments.

The programme will also provide dismounted soldiers and marines with real-time knowledge of their location to less than 20ft in GPS-denied environments.

"We are working to enable ground troops to more effectively operate in urban and complex environments."

Darpa will leverage Raytheon’s expertise in overall systems integration, weapons and distributed air-to-ground processing.

Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice-president Tom Bussing said: "We are working to enable ground troops to more effectively operate in urban and complex environments.

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"Raytheon’s experience as the systems integrator for DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support programme, which offered distributed coordination between air and ground forces, will provide an ideal starting point to help squads effectively perform manned and unmanned teaming."

In December, Darpa contracted nine organisations to enhance real-time situational awareness for dismounted soldiers as part of the SXCT programme.

The organisations include Helios Remote Sensing Systems, Kitware, Leidos, SRI International, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Six3 Systems, Scientific Systems Company, and SoarTech.

Raytheon has also secured a contract to research on the development of next-generation, air-launched, tactical missiles for strengthening the defence capabilities of the US Air Force (USAF).

Under the terms of the $14m indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity cost contract, the company will work on developing technologies to amplify the number of missiles carried on a single sortie while improving the efficacy of each missile.