- RTX has secured $22.9bn from the US War Department for the production of Tomahawk cruise missiles
- The munition, with a range of 1,000 miles, has served as the cornerstone of America’s long-range effects in the Middle East this year
- Consumption rates have demonstrated the need for industry to step up the sustainment of advanced missile stockpiles
In a bid to sustain advanced missile stockpiles, the US War Department has provided Raytheon, an RTX business, with $22.9bn to accelerate the production of Tomahawk land attack missiles (TLAMS).
The surface-to-surface missile, which costs $4m per unit and has a range of 1,000 miles, is the enduring centrepiece of US strike campaigns since Desert Storm in 1991.
In the first 72 hours of the Iran war in February 2026, the US launched more than 400 TLAMs, which accounts for approximately 10% of its ready-to-fire inventory according to business intelligence firm GlobalData.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimate that the US will not return to its pre-war inventory until late 2030 to early 2031.
New measures
Raytheon claims it delivered three times more TLAMs in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025. Although production figures range between 60 and 90 missiles per year, RTX aim to reach 1,000 missiles annually through new government funds and internal expansion.
Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, said the deal will deliver TLAMs at “unprecedented speed” by increasing Raytheon’s workforce, its manufacturing throughput and by reinforcing supply chains.
Raytheon suggest that the funds open up an avenue to engage hundreds of small and mid-sized suppliers across the United States to rapidly scale output to meet long-term needs.
Government support
It is not the first time that the War Department has stimulated the current missile production rate.
In the days leading up to the US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic, the War Department broke ground on a new campus in Indiana to collocate manufacturers of major munition components and subcomponents. It is thought that the shared infrastructure model will reduce operating costs for suppliers.
On 30 May, the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he had encouraged companies to “invest in new plants, new equipment, new production lines,” while affirming that the Government, on its part, are “giving them order times.”
This is one principle enshrined in the department’s procurement reforms introduced in November 2025 under the Acquisition Transformation Strategy.
Others include lower barriers for non-traditional technology companies and prioritising fast delivery even if systems do not meet all the requirements.
