Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, recently broke ground on a $115 million, 26,000 square-foot expansion of its Redstone Raytheon Missile Integration Facility, which will increase the factory's space for integrating and delivering on critical defense programs by more than 50 percent.

The expansion will also bring an estimated 185 new jobs to the area, growing RTX's employee footprint in Alabama to more than 2,200 people.

"This important investment in the Huntsville region will help us meet the growing needs of our military customers and service members," said Raytheon President Phil Jasper. "It will also ready our operations to accelerate delivery of our vital counter-hypersonic solution."

Raytheon's Redstone facility is the final integration point for many missile programs for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Navy, and other defense customers. The facility currently handles integration of nine variants of the Standard Missile family, including Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-6, and will accommodate additional defense programs, including the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI).

GPI will be the first-ever interceptor to defeat the emerging threat of hypersonic glide vehicles in their vulnerable glide phase of flight. With the expansion of our Missile Integration Facility at Redstone, Raytheon is demonstrating its ability and commitment to continued GPI development.

The Redstone Raytheon Missile Integration Facility first opened in 2012. Expansion construction is scheduled to conclude in 2025.