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Raytheon to work on upgraded anti-armor weapons under new deals

Phoenix Business Journal

A pair of contracts worth $676 million calls on Raytheon’s missile-building operation in Tucson to continue its work on the tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless-guided — or TOW — weapon system for the U.S. Army.

The deals include a $430 million annual production contract for fiscal year 2023 and another award for 2024 worth $246 million, according to a recent announcement from Raytheon, the defense-contracting division of Virginia based RTX Corp. (NYSE: RTX).

The TOW system is a long-range precision system that ground forces and others can use against tanks and other armored, wheeled and amphibious threats. The extended-range missiles can be fired from a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles, including the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, Stryker anti-tank guided missile vehicle, Bradley Fighting Vehicle and other light armored vehicles.

Raytheon ranked as Arizona’s No. 7 largest defense contractor in 2023, when it landed 748 Department of Defense contract awards, according to Phoenix Business Journal data. Recent contracts for the contractor have included a $525M multinational sea missile contract and a $1.19 billion contract to upgrade weaponry for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and other foreign forces.

Raytheon has been working on the TOW weapons system for years and continues to make improvements. The company said it recently demonstrated upgraded fuzing and target detection in the TOW 2B variant of the missile. Other improvements are meant to meet military environmental, logistical and terrain needs.

The latest updates save time in engaging targets and help in complex urban environments, Raytheon said.

Work on the contracts will take place in Tucson, Raytheon said.

“Our TOW production line is active, and we can manufacture up to 10,000 missiles annually,” said Tom Laliberty, president of Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, in a statement. “This combat-proven effector is ready to meet current and future anti-tank guided missile requirements for the US Army, Marines Corps, and land forces across the globe.”

Raytheon said it has delivered more than 700,000 TOW weapons systems to the U.S. and foreign militaries — including about 13,000 TOW missiles that have been provided to Ukraine, which has been fighting an invasion by Russia since early 2022. It also said that the system has been used in combat 11,000 times.

The contractor also said the TOW weapon system will be in service beyond the year 2050.

Hypersonic missile contract

Raytheon’s Tucson operation picked up a couple of other contracts in October:

  • The U.S. Navy announced on Oct. 24 that Raytheon was awarded a $15,902,690 contract modification to exercise options for design agent and engineering support services for the Rolling Airframe Missile. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by March 2028.
  • The U.S. Air Force announced on Oct. 2 that Raytheon was awarded a $73 million delivery order under a previous contract for hypersonic attack cruise missile manufacturing capacity enhancement. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2028.

For more information, visit Phoenix Business Journal


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