Pentagon; September 2026: The Us Department Of War (DOW) has awarded Raytheon a multiyear contract worth up to $20.7 billion to build Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs. The Pentagon said the deal will nearly double AMRAAM production.
The five-year contract, which includes two option years, is part of the Pentagon’s Arsenal of Freedom campaign to bolster weapons production. The department said the award is a joint buy by the Air Force, the Navy and allies.
“We are working across the defence industry to ramp production and build the Arsenal of Freedom”, said Michael Duffey, the Under Secretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment, in a statement. “This award strengthens our ability to equip the Joint Force and our allies with a proven air-to-air capability, ensuring our war fighters maintain a decisive advantage”.
The $20.7 billion ceiling dwarfs the Pentagon’s previous record AMRAAM award, a $3.5 billion contract issued in July 2025. That deal covered missiles for the Air Force, the Navy and allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The department has expressed its gratitude to the US Congress for multiyear procurement authority, which lets the Pentagon commit to buying missiles over several years instead of one at a time. It said it hopes lawmakers will provide more authority and funding to sustain production. Industry executives have warned that defence contractors may hold off on big investments in parts and factories until lawmakers act, Reuters reported.
The award comes as the Pentagon works to rebuild munitions stockpiles drawn down by the war with Iran. The contract follows five framework agreements Raytheon signed with the department in February, which set long-term production targets ahead of formal contracts. Under those deals, RTX committed to raising annual output to more than 1,000 Tomahawks, at least 1,900 AMRAAMs and more than 500 Standard Missile-6 interceptors.
Neither the Pentagon nor RTX specified how many missiles the new contract buys or an associated annual production rate.
Raytheon President Phil Jasper said in a statement that the company continues to invest in its workforce, supply chain and facilities to “rapidly scale production capacity and meet surging demand” from the Air Force, Navy and international customers.
RTX said it nearly doubled production of AMRAAM and other munitions in 2025 compared with 2024 and is now exploring international co-production, while adding further that AMRAAM is the world’s most widely deployed air-to-air missile, fielded by 44 countries, and the primary interceptor for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System. Reuters reported that the ground-based air defence system defends the Washington area and is used by more than a dozen other countries.
The Pentagon is also preparing to build AMRAAM’s successor. Earlier this month, the department signed a framework deal with Lockheed Martin to boost production of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which is being developed for the Air Force and Navy to outrange and eventually replace AMRAAM.
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