Department of Defense announced a $3.5 billion award to Raytheon for AMRAAM missiles: it’s the largest contract in program history.
On Jul. 31, 2025, the DOD announced that Raytheon was awarded a $3.5B contract for the latest production lots of the AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles) which is the largest contract in program history.
This award comes less than a year after Raytheon received a $1.2 billion production contract for the combat-proven weapon, and involves Foreign Military Sales to several allied countries, including Israel, Japan, Canada, Germany, the UK and Ukraine.
Here are the details of the contract released by the DoD:
Raytheon, Division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a not-to-exceed $3,500,000,000 firm-fixed-price incentive, undefinitized contract action for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Production Lots 39 and 40. This contract provides for the production of AMRAAM missiles, AMRAAM Telemetry System, initial and field spares, and other production engineering support activities.
This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to: Denmark, Belgium, Japan, Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Isreal, and Kuwait. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of fiscal 2031.
This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2024 Navy weapons procurement funds in the amount of $113,000,000; fiscal 2025 Navy weapons procurement funds in the amount of $190,000,000; fiscal 2023 Air Force missile procurement funds in the amount of $1,300,000; fiscal 2024 Air Force missile procurement funds in the amount of $116,000,000; fiscal 2025 Air Force missile procurement funds in the amount of $472,000,000; fiscal 2025 Air Force research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $507,000; fiscal 2024 Air Force operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $253,936; and FMS funds in the amount of $621,000,000, are being obligated at the time of award.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Dominance Division Contracting Office, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity. (FA8659-25-C-B003)
“As global conflicts intensify and air threats become more sophisticated, AMRAAM continues to give allied forces a decisive edge in combat,” said Sam Deneke, president of Air & Space Defense Systems at Raytheon, said in a press statement. “This award underscores the critical role that the fifth-generation AMRAAM plays in maintaining air superiority and will ensure service members have the advanced technology needed to stay ahead of adversary threats.”
AIM-120 AMRAAM
The AIM-120 AMRAAM is one of the world’s most advanced and proven air-to-air missiles, with over 15 kills in combat environments, including in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, India, and Syria. AMRAAM has an all-weather, BVR (beyond-visual-range), multiple-launch fire-and-forget capability, which allows pilots to launch the missile without the need for manual tracking post-launch.
The weapon is compatible with a multitude of aircraft (14 platforms in 44 countries according to Raytheon), including the F-4, F-15, F-16 (of which a D model achieved the first ever AMRAAM kill in Iraq), F/A-18, F-22, F-35, AV-8B, Eurofighter Typhoon, JAS-39 Gripen, and Panavia Tornado, among other aircraft, and is in service with more than 40 nations worldwide.
Since its introduction, the AMRAAM has gone through continuous upgrades, resulting in multiple variants, from the original A and B models to the more advanced C and D versions. Starting with the AIM-120C-5, the missile received improved High Off-Boresight (HOBs) capability, enhancing both its maneuverability and the seeker’s field of view. The AIM-120C-8, included in this record-breaking contract, began flight testing in 2023.
Developed as part of the Form, Fit, Function Refresh (F3R), the AIM-120C-8 incorporates updated hardware and is designed to support future agile software upgrades. According to RTX, the F3R effort leveraged model-based systems engineering and other digital tools to modernize key components in the missile’s guidance section, including circuit cards and processors, while rehosting legacy software onto both the AIM-120D-3 and C-8 variants.
The C8 was initially intended as the export version of AMRAAM while the D3 remained exclusive to U.S. forces. Testing of the AIM-120C-8 began immediately after the D3’s test campaign wrapped up.
The AIM-120D builds upon the C series with enhancements across the board, offering up to 50% more range than the AIM-120C-7 (which entered service in 2008), improved kinematics, and refined guidance throughout the flight envelope. It reached Initial Operational Capability with U.S. forces in 2015.
As we reported in detail last year, the AIM-120D3 variant may become part of a high/low combination of payloads carried by U.S. fighters together with the new and secretive AIM-260 JATM (Joint Advanced Tactical Missile), the company’s vice president for requirements and capabilities John Norman told reporters on Sep. 10, 2024.
