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By Mike Stone
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Pentagon awarded RTX's Raytheon business a provisional multiyear contract worth $20.7 billion to accelerate production of AMRAAM missiles, as the military pushes to replenish stockpiles depleted by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
The US has supplied large quantities of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its own military operations in Iran,
raising concerns about inventories of key air defense and precision-guided weapons.
The AMRAAM is used in air-to-air jet fighter combat as well as in the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), which is used to defend the Washington area and is used by more than a dozen other countries, including Ukraine, Oman and Qatar.
The prospective AMRAAM deal is the latest in a series of large munitions contracts the Pentagon has pursued this year to pressure contractors into ramping output up faster. The award follows a similar pattern to a $58.6 billion Patriot interceptor deal awarded to Lockheed Martin in July, a seven-year procurement plan running through fiscal 2032.
As with that contract, industry executives have cautioned that Congress has not yet appropriated the funding needed to support the full multiyear commitment, meaning contractors may be unable to invest at scale in components and facilities until lawmakers act.
The production agreements are designed to entice contractors to move faster on increasing output, part of a broader push by the Trump administration to prioritize weapons production over shareholder returns.
The contract, if Congress ultimately appropriates the funds, would let RTX continue to invest in its workforce, supply chain and facilities as US demand surges.
The company said it nearly doubled AMRAAM production in 2025, compared with the prior year.
The deal would be part of the Pentagon's "Arsenal of Freedom" initiative. RTX said earlier this year it would set an annual production goal of at least 1,900 AMRAAM missiles.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; editing by David Gaffen)
