Tucson-based Raytheon gets $1.19 billion contract to continue missile upgrades
The Tucson-based Raytheon missile building division of RTX (NYSE: RTX) has won a $1.19 billion contract to continue work on a key program to upgrade weaponry for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, as well as for foreign forces.
This deal is the biggest one yet in the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) program, which involves upgrading midrange air-to-air AIM-120D3 and AIM-120C8 missile hardware and software to keep those munitions viable for years to come as threats evolve.
The latest contract slightly surpasses a $1.15 billion award from 2023 to pursue work in the program, which supplies the U.S. Air Force and Navy, as well as foreign military forces — including the Ukraine and Japan.
“Air dominance is critical to staying ahead of increasingly advanced adversary threats,” said Paul Ferraro, president of Air & Space Defense Systems at Raytheon. “AMRAAM is the most advanced, combat-proven missile system, and this contract ensures we continue to provide our warfighters with the cutting-edge technology they need.”
The AMRAAM program is part of the U.S. military’s Form, Fit, Function Refresh program — also known as F3R — under which engineers upgrade circuit cards and other hardware in missile guidance systems and update legacy software. Raytheon said this is the sixth production lot of F3R missiles. The first contract of its kind was awarded to Raytheon in Tucson in 2022.
Raytheon has completed successful air-fire tests involving the system in July 2023 and in September 2023. And in February of this year, it completed a successful test of an extended-range air-to-air missile that had been reconfigured as a surface-to-air system.
The latest deal comes just a couple of months after the Air Force awarded Raytheon a $14.5 million contract for the AMRAAM development lab management and maintenance program. Work on the new order will take place in Tucson, where previous F3R work has been done.
Raytheon, Northrop Grumman announce successful rocket motor test
The contract announcement comes shortly after Raytheon and Northrop Grumman — another defense contractor with a major Arizona presence — announced they successfully completed a static fire test of an advanced long-range solid rocket motor as part of a joint project to develop hypersonic weapons.
The test, which took place at the Northrop Grumman Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia, was a demonstration of wired end-burning technology for hypersonic applications. The companies said it showed the maturity of the technology, which is expected to provide extended range beyond what conventional rocket motors can offer.
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) have been working together on hypersonic systems for years. In September 2022, the two were awarded a contract of nearly $1 billion to develop the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) for the U.S. Air Force. That contract calls for the two companies to design, develop and deliver the first-of-its-kind missile by March 2027.
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are also working together on the MDA’s Glide Phase Interceptor project, which is developing a new missile that can knock out hypersonic weapons while they are in the glide phase — the middle portion of their flight en route to targets.
The companies won enhanced contracts for that work in 2022 and were awarded a $48.2 million contract modification early in 2023. Then at the end of 2023, each company was awarded another contract modification of about $52.5 million each to exercise options on the original deal and continue developing and refining the Glide Phase Intercept concept during its Technology Development Phase.
In 2021, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman were awarded a $3.9 billion contract to work on the Missile Defense Agency’s Next Generation Interceptor Program, which is part of the Midcourse Defense System, to take on long-range ballistic missile threats.
The two companies also in 2023 won a $97.7 million contract to develop the precision strike missile (or PrSM) project, which is part of the Army’s Long Range Maneuverable Fires program. The companies are collaborating to design, build and test a potential propulsion technology for the advanced DeepStrike-ER missile. Both that project and the HACM one involve air-breathing technology — which makes use of incoming air for propulsion as the missile travels to extend range.