Raytheon, Northrop Grumman awarded hypersonic missile contract worth nearly $1B

A partnership between Raytheon’s Missiles & Defense division and Northrop Grumman has been awarded a nearly $1 billion contract to develop the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) for the U.S. Air Force.

The air-launched HACM will be the first of its kind, and the $985.34 million contract calls for the two companies to design, develop and deliver the missile by March 2027. The project is part of a joint initiative between the U.S. and Australia called the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment, or SCIFiRE.

Both companies are major defense contractors in Arizona, with Raytheon Technologies’ (NYSE: RTX) Missiles & Defense division based in Tucson — where the company employed 13,000 people at last count and where work will be done — and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) having a significant presence with 3,500 employees in Chandler.

The two companies have already been working jointly since 2019 on a hypersonic weapon concept that integrates Northrop Grumman’s scramjet engines into Raytheon’s air-breathing hypersonic weapons, launching test flights in September 2021 and in July.

Those tests show the technology to be “mature,” Raytheon said in July, and it will be employed in the HACM project, which Raytheon described as vital to keeping up with advanced threats.

“Raytheon Missiles & Defense continues to be at the forefront of hypersonic weapon and air-breathing technology development,” said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense, in a statement. “With advanced threats emerging around the globe, the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile will provide our warfighters a much-needed capability.”

Missiles use ‘scramjet’ propulsion system

Scramjet engines work by using high vehicle speed to forcibly compress incoming air — hence the term “air-breathing” — before combustion to achieve sustained high-speed flights of Mach 5 or faster. They run on a widely available fuel and don’t need onboard oxidizers, both of which make for a tactically sized long-range hypersonic weapon, Raytheon has said.

“The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile creates a new class of strategically important weapons for the U.S. military,” said Mary Petryszyn, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Defense Systems, in a statement. “Our scramjet propulsion technology is ushering in a new era for faster, more survivable and highly capable weapons.”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown Jr. said the new weapon will provide the military with greater tactical flexibility.

“HACM is a powerful example of developing and integrating combat capabilities alongside our partners from the beginning,” Brown said in a statement announcing the new contract. “HACM will provide our commanders with tactical flexibility to employ fighters to hold high-value, time-sensitive targets at risk while maintaining bombers for other strategic targets.”

The latest contract is the next step after Raytheon won out over Boeing and Lockheed Martin under a 2021 preliminary prototype design contract, the Air Force said.

The U.S.-Australia SCIFiRE collaboration has led the process since it began in 2020 with a focus on research and development of hypersonic air-breathing technologies