Pentagon Awards Raytheon Up to $20.7 Billion to Nearly Double AMRAAM Production

The Pentagon has awarded RTX's Raytheon business a multiyear contract with a ceiling of up to $20.7 billion for production of the AIM-120 AMRAAM, an award the department said would "nearly double" output of the air-to-air missile, Defense News reported. The contract was awarded on 25 September 2026 and announced on Monday, 28 September, according to Defense News and Reuters.

The award spans five years with options for an additional two years, Breaking Defense reported. It was issued as an undefinitized contract action, with roughly $240 million obligated at award from US Air Force and foreign military sales funds, according to Breaking Defense, which cited a Pentagon contract notice stating that the deal covers orders for the Air Force and the Navy as well as 16 international customers.

Reuters called the award provisional, noting that Congress has not yet funded the full deal. Defense News and Reuters both placed the contract within the Pentagon's "Arsenal of Freedom" campaign to bolster weapons production. Neither the Pentagon nor RTX specified how many missiles the contract buys, Defense News reported.

The award essentially underwrites a framework agreement RTX reached with the Pentagon earlier this year to raise AMRAAM output to at least 1,900 missiles a year, according to Breaking Defense, a figure Reuters described as the company's annual production goal rather than a contracted quantity. RTX said it nearly doubled AMRAAM production in 2025 compared with 2024, according to Reuters. The previous record AMRAAM award was a $3.5 billion contract in July 2025 covering missiles for the Air Force, the Navy and allies, Defense News reported.

Reuters said the award follows a similar pattern to a $58.6 billion Patriot interceptor deal awarded to Lockheed Martin in July as the military pushes to replenish stockpiles. Earlier in September, the Pentagon signed a framework deal with Lockheed Martin to boost production of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which Defense News said is being developed for the Air Force and the US Navy to outrange and eventually replace AMRAAM. GlobalMilitary.net reported earlier this year that Australia became the first foreign buyer of the AIM-260 in an A$736 million deal. The Navy has also revealed the AIM-424 Malice long-range air-to-air missile, as GlobalMilitary.net previously reported.

According to RTX, as cited by Defense News and Breaking Defense, AMRAAM is the world's most widely deployed air-to-air missile, fielded by 44 countries, and the primary interceptor of the NASAMS ground-based air defense system. GlobalMilitary.net's operator data for the AIM-120 also counts 44 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Romania, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia and Ukraine. The same missile database lists 15 NASAMS operators, among them the United States, Norway, Lithuania, Spain, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Qatar and Ukraine.

The contract remains undefinitized, with a five-year base period and two option years, and the ceiling of $20.7 billion depends on funding that Reuters said Congress has not yet provided. Neither the Pentagon nor RTX has disclosed the number of missiles covered, according to Defense News.