U.S. to increase Tomahawk missile production more than 16-fold under $22.9 billion deal

The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon a significant $22.9 billion contract to increase Tomahawk missile production, Reuters reported on August 17. Under the seven-year agreement, Raytheon aims to boost annual Tomahawk missile production from approximately 60 missiles to over 1,000 missiles per year. Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao stated that the U.S. government has encouraged defense manufacturers to expedite munitions production to ensure an adequate supply of precision weapons.

Raytheon emphasized that the contract would enable the company to greatly expand its production capacity, resulting in increased missile deliveries to the U.S. military. The contract follows a preliminary agreement between the U.S. military and Raytheon, which was reached in February and initially outlined a production expansion from 60 to 1,000 Tomahawk missiles annually.

The U.S. is currently striving to replenish its stocks of advanced weaponry following their extensive usage in supporting allies and during combat operations. In late July, Reuters revealed that the United States had largely exhausted its stockpile of long-range missiles during the five-month conflict with Iran, with one source estimating that the country had consumed nearly half of the worldwide Tomahawk cruise missile inventory.

On August 4, President Donald Trump dismissed claims of a missile shortage resulting from the war in Iran and threatened to prosecute media outlets that suggested such a shortage existed, threatening them with imprisonment. The following day, The Washington Post, citing two anonymous sources, reported that Trump had accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of misleading him about a purported missile shortage during the Iran war, as Trump believed the issue had already been resolved.