The U.S. Navy issued a $22.9 billion, seven-year contract to Raytheon for Tomahawk missiles production, one of the core weapon systems in the U.S. precision-strike capability. According to Raytheon, the contract will allow it to scale production of the missiles from an estimated 60 units per year to about 1,000 per year over the term of the agreement.

The contract is among numerous recent Pentagon awards aimed at accelerating missile production, amid concern over depleted weapons inventories during the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. In February, Raytheon struck a framework agreement with the War Dept. to increase production capacity and speed deliveries of multiple weapons classes, including the Tomahawk.

The Tomahawk is a U.S. long-range, precision-guided cruise missile designed to be launched from ships and submarines, to strike without entering heavily defended areas. It has a range of roughly 1,000 miles (or more, depending on the variant), with guidance provided by multiple navigation systems, including GPS and terrain/scene-matching technologies.

While the missile system is designed to be armed with conventional warheads, nuclear weapon variants are available.

"Tomahawk is the Navy's most important strike weapon, able to target hostile forces hundreds of miles away without ever risking the lives of our sailors," stated Raytheon president Phil Jasper. "We are making significant investments in our workforce, technology, supply chain, and facilities to dramatically boost production capacity and meet surging demand."

According to Raytheon, the new contract is an investment in the U.S. military industrial base too.

While the Tucson plant is the primary center for Tomahawk missile assembly, the program has numerous suppliers of components and materials. And Raytheon’s overall missile production network covers other plants in Huntsville, Ala., and Andover, Mass.