Tomahawk missiles: Pentagon awards 22.9 billion contract to RTX

The Pentagon, which is working to replenish its stocks of high-tech weaponry, announced yesterday that it had awarded Raytheon – a division of the RTX Group – a contract worth $22.9 billion to drastically increase production of Tomahawk missiles.

In recent days, the controversy surrounding the use of American weaponry in the Middle East and Iran, and the clash between Donald Trump himself and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, had highlighted the difficulties the United States faces in meeting its international commitments with an adequate supply of air defence systems and precision-guided weapons. Hence the calls for major American companies such as RTX.

The department has asked major US companies “to ramp up production, and RTX has responded to the call”, said Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Force Support. “We have asked the industry to rapidly increase ammunition production, and RTX is responding positively,” confirmed Hung Cao, Acting Secretary of the Navy, in a post on X. “This major contract for the Tomahawks,” he continued, “ensures that our military continues to have the firepower it needs.” Raytheon has announced that the contract will run for seven years and will enable Tomahawk production to be scaled up to over 1,000 missiles a year, from the current level of just 60 missiles a year.

The Tomahawk is a key weapon for the Navy, providing long-range precision strike capabilities against land-based targets, and is deployed by both ships and submarines. According to the CSIS (Centre for Strategic and International Studies), a Tomahawk missile costs around 2.6 million dollars. The CSIS itself has estimated that the US Navy had around 3,100 missiles prior to the resumption of hostilities with Iran and that more than 1,000 have been used since then (the shortages of ATACMS tactical missile systems and PRSM precision-strike missiles are even more acute). Until now, the lead time between ordering and delivery of a Tomahawk was as long as 47 months.

The contract formalises the framework agreement signed by the Pentagon and Raytheon last February. Trump is negotiating multi-year agreements with major defence contractors, offering American companies the certainty they need to invest billions of dollars in new facilities and equipment.