Raytheon says new air-to-air missile made in Tucson passes key live-fire test
Raytheon announced it has achieved a significant milestone in its Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, program with the successful live-fire test of an AIM-120D-3 missile.
During the test, the missile was fired from an F-16 fighter jet using production hardware and software, said Raytheon, a division of RTX (NYSE: RTX), whose major missile manufacturing operation is located in Tucson.
The latest work on the missile involves upgraded circuit cards in the guidance section, allowing for continuous agile software improvements, enhancing its ability to counter peer threats, Raytheon said.
The AIM-120D-3 missile is described by Raytheon as the most advanced variant in the AMRAAM program, which is part of the U.S. military’s Form, Fit, Function Refresh program — also known as F3R — that updates missile hardware and allows for software upgrades. Raytheon has said adjustments made in the program provide significant capability enhancements to counter advanced threats.
Just last month, Raytheon won a contract for more than $1.86 billion in new work in the AMRAAM program — with $1.15 billion of that being devoted to the AIM-120D-3 system — to supply the U.S. Air Force and Navy as well as 18 other countries.
That deal follows follows a previous AMRAAM contract for Raytheon for $972 million announced last September for hardware and software for AIM-120D3 and AIM-120C8 missiles. That was the first contract of its kind under the F3R, program.
The company said the latest testing included both captive carry and live-fires from U.S. Navy and Air Force platforms.
The recent contracts and successful testing signal an increase of production in the program, Raytheon said.
“We are ramping AMRAAM production to a greater rate than ever before in the history of this program,” said Paul Ferraro, president of Air Power at Raytheon, in a statement. “With significantly increased functionality, performance and producibility, and the completion of the flight test program, we are ensuring warfighters can count on having the fifth generation of AMRAAM – and enough of them – in their arsenal.”
Separate Raytheon awards
In a separate deal announced at the end of June, Raytheon was awarded a $57.3 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to provide Rolling Airframe Missile Mod 5 Guided Missile Launching Systems, along with ordnance alteration kits and spare parts, for the U.S. and German navies. The bulk of the work will be done in Germany, but some will be done in Tucson and other locations. The award is funded through the U.S. Navy, the German Navy and the Foreign Military Sales program.
In another award for Raytheon, the U.S. military announced on July 12 that Raytheon won a $28.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for work on the Rolling Airframe Missile upgraded MK 31 Guided Missile Weapon System Improvement Program, covering purchases for the U.S. Navy as well as for Qatar, Japan and Egypt. The contract has options that could bring the deal’s total value to $282.6 million. The work will be done in Tucson and could continue until June 2028.