The United States is moving to sharply expand its stock of long range and air to air weapons, with a planned surge in production of Tomahawk cruise missiles and AMRAAM air to air missiles that will roughly double current output. At the center of the effort is RTX Corp’s Raytheon business, which has secured a suite of multi year Pentagon frameworks to push annual deliveries of these systems into the thousands. The shift signals a deliberate attempt to rebuild munitions depth for a more contested era, from the Western Pacific to Europe.
The Tomahawk cruise missile, capable of striking targets from 1,000 miles away, and the Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile, or AMRAAM, sit at the heart of this push. By locking in higher production rates for up to seven years, the Pentagon is trying to ensure that U.S. forces and allies are not constrained by missile inventories in a prolonged crisis.
Inside the five RTX frameworks and the 2x production goal
The backbone of the surge is a set of five framework agreements between RTX and the Department of War that are designed to expand critical munition production across several missile families. RTX has described how its Raytheon unit will use these arrangements to build on earlier investments in factories and suppliers, turning what had been incremental growth into a step change in output for Tomahawk, AMRAAM and the Standard Missile series, according to its own munitions overview. A companion announcement framed the deals as “landmark” agreements between RTX Corp’s Raytheon business and the Department of War, underscoring how central these weapons have become to U.S. force planning in an era of renewed great power competition, as detailed in the company’s partnership notice.
Under these frameworks, RTX will increase annual production of Tomahawk, AMRAAM, SM 3 and SM 6 missiles, with some lines expected to grow by up to a factor of two, according to frameworks details. The company has emphasized that the agreements are structured to sustain high production rates over as long as seven years, rather than a short term spike, a point echoed in separate coverage of how RTX will dramatically increase missile production under Pentagon deals and align with the Defense Department’s new weapons acquisition structure in Pentagon focused reporting.
Tomahawk: 1,000-mile reach and more than 1,000 units a year
The Tomahawk cruise missile has long been one of the U.S. Navy’s preferred tools for the opening hours of a conflict, a precision weapon launched from ships and submarines that can strike targets from 1,000 miles away. RTX describes The Tomahawk in similar terms, noting that the cruise missile is a precision weapon that launches from ships and submarines and can strike targets from 1,000 miles, a range that allows U.S. forces to hold high value targets at risk while staying outside many adversary air defenses. That long reach is a key reason the Pentagon is prioritizing Tomahawk in its new production push.
Under the new arrangements, RTX will scale annual output to over 1,000 Tomahawk missiles, a figure echoed in multiple accounts that describe plans to increase annual production of Tomahawk cruise missiles to more than 1,000 units. One breakdown of the frameworks notes that Tomahawk Cruise Missile annual production is slated to rise sharply as RTX moves to double missile production under Department of War frameworks, according to Tomahawk focused analysis. Another summary of the U.S. decision to build thousands of missiles, including Tomahawks, underlines that the deals aim to significantly expand stocks of long range weapons that combine precision and survivability, as described in Raytheon deal coverage.
AMRAAM: the Air Force’s main dogfighting missile heads to 1,900 a year
If Tomahawk is the Navy’s long range opening salvo, AMRAAM is the Air Force’s workhorse in the air to air fight. Raytheon, a division of RTX, has committed to radically boost production of the Air Force’s main dogfighting missile, with one report noting that the company will increase the number of Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, it produces to “at least” 1,900 annually. That same account describes the effort as a radical boost in production of the Air Force’s main dogfighting missile and highlights that the deal will support not only U.S. squadrons but also as many as 43 allied partners, according to the Raytheon focused breakdown.
The scale of the jump is stark. The same reporting notes that moving to at least 1,900 AMRAAMs a year represents about a 58 percent increase from 2024, when Raytheon set a goal to produce 1,200 AIM 120s annually to meet increasing global demand, a figure that underscores how quickly requirements have grown for the AIM family of missiles. Another description of the deal reiterates that Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missiles production will climb to at least 1,900 a year, again describing the increase as about a 58 percent jump and tying the expansion to reconciliation funding passed by Congress.
Standard Missiles, interceptors and the industrial base behind the surge
While Tomahawk and AMRAAM grab the headlines, the same frameworks will significantly expand production of the Standard Missile family that underpins U.S. naval air and missile defense. RTX has said it will increase production of Standard Missile 3 Block IIA interceptors and accelerate production of Standard Missile 6s, part of a broader push to expand critical munition production under Department of Defense agreements, according to Standard missile coverage. One detailed breakdown notes that Raytheon will increase the annual output of SM 6 Standard Missiles to more than 500, up from about 125, a shift that will give the Navy a much deeper inventory of a weapon that combines air defense, anti ship and limited ballistic missile defense capabilities, as highlighted in separate Navy focused reporting.
Those Standard Missile increases sit alongside the Tomahawk and AMRAAM surges in the same multi year deals. One account of RTX’s new arrangements with the Pentagon notes that Raytheon will increase annual production of Tomahawks to more than 1,000, AMRAAMs to at least 1,900, and Standard Missile 6 to more than 500, while also boosting Standard Missile 3 IB production, according to agreement details. Another summary of RTX’s plans to dramatically increase missile production under Pentagon deals reiterates that RTX will increase production of Tomahawks to more than 1,000 a year, AMRAAMs to at least 1,900 a year, and Standard Missile 6s to more than 500, tying the effort to the Defense Department’s evolving acquisition structure.
Factories, allies and what a doubled missile output signals
Scaling to these levels requires a broad industrial footprint, and RTX is leaning on multiple sites to deliver. Production under the frameworks will be completed at Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Ariz, Huntsville, Ala, and Andover, Massachusetts, according to production details. Another account of RTX’s multi year deal to boost production of Tomahawk, AMRAAM and Standard Missiles similarly notes that Production will take place at Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Arizona, Huntsville, Alabama, and Andover, Massachusetts, underscoring how the company is spreading work across several key hubs, as outlined in Raytheon focused reporting. A separate breakdown of the missile production deals notes that Raytheon, part of RTX, has facilities in Tucson, Arizona, Huntsville, Alabama, and Andover, Massachusetts that will support the expanded output, according to facility details.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
