A tomahawk land attack missile is launched aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) in the Philippine Sea on May 27, 2019. (Taylor DiMartino/U.S. Navy)
(Tribune News Service) — Tucson-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense won key year-end contracts for the latest version of its venerable Tomahawk cruise missile and for current and next-generation air combat missiles.
Raytheon was awarded a $171 million Navy contract option to deliver 111 Block V Tomahawks by late 2025, according to a Pentagon contract notice.
The order includes 48 Tomahawks for the Navy, as well as 50 for the Army and 13 for the Marine Corps for use with ground launchers currently under development.
The Navy’s workhorse long-range, ship- and submarine-launched weapon system from its initial use in the Gulf War in 1991 to its most recent use in Syria in 2018, the Tomahawk has been upgraded with new capabilities over the years.
In 2021, Raytheon delivered its first Block V Tomahawk, which has upgraded navigation and communication systems; other versions of the Block V can strike moving targets at sea and different types of land targets.
The United Kingdom is the only other nation to use the Tomahawk, but Australia and Canada have announced plans to buy Tomahawks for surface ships.
Air-combat missiles
Raytheon this week was awarded a $317 million Navy contract to produce 471 AIM-9X Sidewinder air-combat missiles for the U.S. and allied nations, according to a contract notice.
The company also was awarded a $21 million Air Force contract to develop critical subsystem technologies for two new air-combat weapons, the Extended Range Air-to-Air Missile and Compact Air-to-Air Missile systems.
The work under the Air Force Research Laboratory contract will be performed in Tucson and is expected to be completed by late 2029.
In September, Boeing was awarded a similar contract worth up to $9.8 million for subsystem development of the compact and extended-range air combat missiles.
Raytheon makes the current Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) as well as the shorter-range Sidewinder. Both are widely deployed by the Navy and Air Force and allied nations.
In 2019, Raytheon unveiled the Peregrine air-to-air missile, which features greater speed and range and advanced navigation and guidance in an airframe less than half the size of an AMRAAM, allowing fighters to carry twice as many missiles.
The company also has developed an extended range version of the AMRAAM for use with ground launchers as well as a new, longer-range air combat missile.
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