“This award strengthens our ability to equip the Joint Force and our allies with a proven air-to-air capability, ensuring our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage,” Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Duffey said in the announcement.
Pentagon awards up to $20.7 billion for AMRAAM production
The Defense Department has awarded RTX subsidiary Raytheon a contract worth up to nearly $20.7 billion for production of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), the Pentagon announced Monday. The multi-year agreement spans five years with options that could extend performance for an additional two years and covers orders for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and 16 international customers. At the time of award, roughly $240 million drawn from Air Force and foreign military sales funds was issued.
Production ramp: nearly doubling output and backing a 1,900-unit goal
The Pentagon said the contract “nearly” doubles AMRAAM production compared to previous rates. Earlier this year, RTX and the Defense Department reached a framework to boost AMRAAM manufacturing to 1,900 units annually; the new contract was described as essentially underwriting that framework. Raytheon president Phil Jasper said the company is “making significant investments in our workforce, technology, supply chain and facilities to rapidly scale production capacity and meet surging demand” from the U.S. Air Force, Navy and international partners.
Audit-ready is a season. It shouldn't be.
Evidence in spreadsheets, controls drifting between audits, frameworks multiplying on flat headcount. Nubivance runs continuous compliance on Rapid7 Cyber GRC - SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO 27001, PCI, CMMC.
End the scrambleContract structure and fiscal context: an undefinitized contract action
The award was issued as an undefinitized contract action (UCA), a procurement mechanism that allows work to begin before final dollar amounts and quantities are settled. The Pentagon noted a UCA also permits early work when appropriations face roadblocks — a salient point as the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1 under a continuing resolution and a separate reconciliation package “looks in doubt,” according to the contract notice. The Pentagon contract announcement added: “The Department appreciates congressional partnership in providing multiyear procurement authority for AMRAAM and looks forward to continued support for additional authority and funding that would enable sustained production and greater certainty for the industrial base in the years ahead.”
International reach and platform flexibility
RTX describes the AMRAAM as a key air-to-air defense weapon jointly produced for the Air Force and Navy. The missile can also be launched from the NASAMS ground-based air defense system, and RTX said it has been fielded by 44 countries. The contract specifically lists orders for 16 international customers among the covered buys, reflecting demand outside U.S. services as well as inside them.
L3Harris and THAAD propulsion: a related multi-year industrial ramp
The AMRAAM award comes amid a broader Pentagon push to ramp munitions production through multi-year and framework agreements. Separately, Lockheed Martin’s THAAD prime contractor issued L3Harris an undefinitized contract valued at over $6 billion to increase production of THAAD interceptor propulsion systems. That seven-year contract is expected to “quadruple” production of the THAAD propulsion system, L3Harris said, and the company announced plans to build a new facility to boost solid rocket motor output. In L3Harris’s press release, Ken Bedingfield, president of the Missile Solutions unit, said: “This contract underscores L3Harris’ demonstrated ability to quickly deliver critical defense technologies at the scale and speed required by the Department of War.”
How the Air Force, the Navy, RTX, and 16 international customers are affected
- Air Force and Navy: The award secures multiyear procurement authority and initial funds that enable replenishment of air-to-air inventory and an immediate increase in production capacity—important as the Pentagon sought to counter recent stockpile pressures.
- RTX/Raytheon: The contract underwrites a previously announced framework to reach 1,900 AMRAAMs per year and supports investments in workforce, supply chain and facilities to scale production rapidly.
- 16 international customers: Inclusion in the multi-year contract signals continued demand and provides a path for allies to receive AMRAAM deliveries under the same procurement structure.
The award formalizes a significant industrial commitment: nearly $20.7 billion in potential AMRAAM buys, an explicit push to double output, and parallel investments to ramp other missile components such as THAAD propulsion. Yet the deal’s UCA form and the incoming fiscal-year constraints underscore a central tension — the Pentagon has signaled its need for sustained congressional support to translate temporary authorities and framework agreements into long-term, predictable production.
https://breakingdefense.com/2026/09/raytheon-nets-potential-20-7-billion-amraam-deal/
