Pentagon awards Raytheon $22.9 billion contract to ramp up Tomahawk missile production

Pentagon announced on Monday that it had awarded Raytheon, an RTX business, a $22.9 billion US Navy contract aimed at rapidly expanding production of Tomahawk cruise missiles. This comes amid concerns about inventories of air defence and precision-guided ​weapons amid the war in Iran.

"The Department called upon industry to expand munitions production, and RTX has answered that call,” said Michael P Duffey, the under secretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment. “This Tomahawk award increases our ability to equip the Joint Force, ensuring our Warfighters never face a fair fight.”

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Think-tank analyses, including reports from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), noted that active conflicts have heavily drained US stockpiles of long-range precision weapons and air-defence interceptors. The deal is meant to accelerate manufacturing capacity to build more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles per year. It is a seven-year, multi-year procurement contract for RTX Corporation, which currently makes just 60 a year. Tomahawk is a long-range cruise missile used by the US Navy for its precision strike ​capability.

“Guaranteeing our naval and joint forces have the lethal firepower they need to deter aggression and protect the homeland is paramount,” said Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao. “This landmark $22.9 billion investment will accelerate Tomahawk missile delivery to our warfighters at unprecedented speed.”