$20.7 BILLION FOR AMRAAM
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Raytheon, an RTX business, a multi-year contract valued at up to $20.7 billion to dramatically increase production of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).
The five-year agreement includes two additional option years and is part of a broader U.S. effort to rebuild missile inventories and establish significantly higher production rates for key precision weapons.
Under the agreement, Raytheon is expected to support annual production of at least 1,900 AMRAAM missiles – a record level for the programme.
The company says it has already nearly doubled AMRAAM production between 2024 and 2025 and is continuing to invest in its workforce, manufacturing facilities and supply chain while exploring opportunities for international co-production.
The scale of the new contract reflects rapidly increasing demand from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and international customers as Western nations seek to replenish missile inventories while simultaneously expanding their own defence capabilities.
AMRAAM is one of the most widely deployed Western air-to-air weapons. Now in its fifth generation, the missile is integrated on 14 platforms and fielded by 44 countries. It has recorded more than 7,000 successful live firings in testing and combat.
Its role also extends beyond fighter aircraft. AMRAAM serves as the primary interceptor for the NASAMS ground-based air defence system, linking increased production directly to the wider effort to strengthen Western integrated air and missile defence.
The contract has a particularly strong European dimension. Foreign Military Sales associated with the programme include Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
The award comes amid a broader shift in U.S. defence procurement toward large, multi-year agreements intended to give manufacturers the certainty required to expand production capacity. It follows a separate $58.6 billion multi-year Patriot interceptor agreement awarded to Lockheed Martin earlier this year.
For AMRAAM, the message is clear: production is moving from replenishment toward sustained industrial-scale output.
Sources: U.S. Department of Defense / RTX
