On Monday, August 17, 2026, the US Department of Defense announced that it had signed a seven-year contract with US-based Raytheon (part of RTX) worth 22.9 billion USD for serial production of RGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Land Attack and Maritime Strike variants.
Photos: RTX
The agreement stems from a framework arrangement signed on February 4 this year, which called for a significant increase in production capacity for five weapon systems: RGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack and Maritime Strike cruise missiles, as well as AMRAAM surface-to-air/air-to-air missiles and SM-3 IB, SM-3 IIA, and SM-6 interceptor missiles. In the case of the Tomahawk, annual production is to increase to more than 1,000 missiles.
The latest Tomahawk Block V missiles have been delivered to the US Navy since March 2021 as conversions from Block IV. The new Tomahawk is supplied in two variants: Block Va, optimized for anti-ship missions, and Block Vb, intended for land-attack missions, both with a range of 1,850 km. Since late February this year, stocks of Tomahawk Land Attack Block IVb and Vb missiles have been significantly depleted as a result of intensive combat operations against Iran.
“Tomahawk is the Navy’s most important strike weapon, able to target hostile forces hundreds of miles away without ever risking the lives of our sailors,” said Raytheon President Phil Jasper. “We are making significant investments in our workforce, technology, supply chain and facilities to dramatically boost production capacity and meet surging demand.”
In recent years, RTX has invested heavily in expanding production of Tomahawk and other critical munitions, delivering three times as many RGM-109 missiles in the first half of 2026 as in the first half of 2025. Under the latest contract, RTX will further expand production capacity and work closely with hundreds of small and medium-sized suppliers across the United States to rapidly scale output and meet long-term requirements (Expansion of RTX Facilities in Redstone, Alabama Completed).
“The Department called upon industry to expand munitions production, and RTX has answered that call,” said Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael P. Duffey. “This Tomahawk award increases our ability to equip the Joint Force, ensuring our Warfighters never face a fair fight.”
“Guaranteeing our naval and joint forces have the lethal firepower they need to deter aggression and protect the homeland is paramount,” said Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao. “This landmark $22.9 billion investment will accelerate Tomahawk missile delivery to our warfighters at unprecedented speed. By working closely with industry to expand our munitions industrial base’s capacity, the Department is utilizing every available tool to meet the demands of our current operations, ensuring they are equipped to fight, win, and come home safe.”
It is worth noting that Tomahawk missiles are not used exclusively by US Navy warships. The US Army has fielded its first battery equipped with the new mobile Typhon missile launchers, which can employ both RGM-109 missiles and the aforementioned SM-6. Germany has also expressed interest in the system. The US Marine Corps (USMC), meanwhile, is testing the unmanned ROGUE Fires launcher variant for a single Tomahawk Maritime Strike Block Va missile.
For many years, the United States and the United Kingdom were the only operators of Tomahawk missiles. This has changed in recent years. In 2023 alone, three additional countries announced purchases: Japan (400 missiles), Australia (220 missiles), and the Netherlands (175 missiles). All three have already conducted their first test launches from surface combatants. Canada and the aforementioned Germany are expected to join the group of operators in the future, with Germany considering the missiles for both warships and land-based launchers. Ukraine unsuccessfully sought a donation of Tomahawk missiles from the United States.
This landmark $22.9 Billion contract to accelerate production of the Tomahawk cruise missile is exactly the kind of decisive action America deserves.
Our partners in the defense industrial base like RTX are answering the call to surge critical munitions production so our…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) August 17, 2026
Raytheon is accelerating production of the Tomahawk cruise missile as part of the @DeptofWar‘s Arsenal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/uZoMs4UiaW
— RTX (@RTX_News) August 17, 2026
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