A contract worth as much as $20.7 billion has been awarded to Raytheon to support increased AMRAAM production. The five-year agreement contains two additional option years and is aligned with the US Department of Defense’s “Arsenal of Freedom” effort to rebuild manufacturing capacity and accelerate weapons procurement. It follows a February agreement under which RTX committed to raising annual AMRAAM production to a minimum of 1,900 missiles. The Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile is a major beyond-visual-range weapon carried by multiple US and allied fighter fleets and is also employed as the key interceptor for NASAMS ground-based air-defence systems. Combat operations in Ukraine and the Middle East have increased pressure on US and allied inventories, creating a requirement for additional missile production. RTX is expanding its manufacturing network through partnerships with hundreds of small and medium-sized American suppliers. It has also been examining overseas production arrangements and began looking for European companies capable of supplying AMRAAM components in July.
