Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Pentagon awards Raytheon $22.9 billion Tomahawk missile production contract
The Pentagon is the part of the United States government that runs the military.
It has given a company called Raytheon a very big job and a lot of money.
The money is $22.9 billion, which is more than most countries have.
Raytheon will use it to make more Tomahawk missiles.
A Tomahawk missile is a powerful flying weapon that can travel very far and hit a target very precisely.
Right now, Raytheon only makes about 60 of these missiles each year.
The military wants them to make more than 1,000 every year.
This is because wars have used up many of the missiles the United States had stored.
The contract will last for seven years.
Leaders say this will help keep soldiers safe and protect the country.
The Pentagon awarded Raytheon, an RTX business, a $22.9 billion US Navy contract to rapidly expand Tomahawk cruise missile production.
The seven-year procurement deal aims to boost manufacturing capacity to more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles per year, up from the current 60 per year.
The award comes amid concerns about inventories of air defence and precision-guided weapons during the war in Iran.
Think-tank analyses, including reports from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), say active conflicts have heavily drained US stockpiles of long-range precision weapons and air-defence interceptors.
Officials Michael P Duffey and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said the investment will accelerate missile delivery to warfighters.
- Who
- The Pentagon and Raytheon, an RTX business, with officials Michael P Duffey and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao.
- What
- A $22.9 billion US Navy contract to rapidly expand Tomahawk cruise missile production.
- When
- Announced on Monday.
- Where
- United States, announced by the Pentagon.
- Why
- Concerns about depleted inventories of air defence and precision-guided weapons amid the war in Iran and active conflicts that have drained US stockpiles.
- Contract value
- $22.9 billion
- Contractor
- Raytheon (an RTX business)
- Contract type
- Seven-year, multi-year US Navy procurement contract
- Production target
- More than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles per year
- Current production
- 60 Tomahawk missiles per year
- Missile
- Tomahawk long-range cruise missile
- Announcement
- Monday
- Reason
- Concerns over weapons inventories amid the war in Iran