US Navy awards Raytheon contract worth up to $24.4 billion to expand SM-6 production

The US Navy awarded Raytheon, an RTX company, a five-year contract worth up to $24.4 billion to increase production of the Standard Missile-6, with options that could extend the arrangement for two more years. The award was announced on 1 October 2026 as the Pentagon seeks a more predictable supply of missiles for its fleet.

The company’s announcement describes the agreement as a long-term order intended to increase the availability of SM-6 interceptors. It does not specify a final missile quantity or delivery calendar. The $24.4 billion figure is the contract’s maximum value, not a statement that the Navy has already received that amount of equipment.

One missile, several missions

The SM-6 can be launched from US warships and from land-based systems. Raytheon says the weapon is designed for air defence, strikes against surface targets and ballistic-missile defence. Those different roles make its production capacity a matter of fleet readiness as well as industrial planning. An earlier Geopolitiki guide to ballistic-missile defence explains the wider role of ship-based Aegis systems.

The scale of the new award is tied to efforts to rebuild stocks after sustained missile use in the Middle East. US naval forces have fired interceptors in operations connected to attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Red Sea. The Navy’s announcement, however, gives no public breakdown of the number of SM-6 rounds expended or the number to be delivered under this particular contract.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said naval power requires weapons that can be supplied quickly and at scale. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle said a long-term commitment gives industry a clearer picture of demand and the stability to expand production. Raytheon president Phil Jasper said the company was investing in its facilities and operations to remove bottlenecks and raise output.

Industrial capacity and funding

Raytheon says it has expanded its workforce, worked with more suppliers and automated parts of production to meet demand. The missile is produced through a broader US industrial network, rather than a single assembly step. Earlier RTX agreements set ambitious annual output goals for several weapons, including SM-6, Tomahawk and AMRAAM missiles; those goals should not be confused with confirmed deliveries under the October award.

The SM-6 deal follows other large multi-year munitions agreements. Their size gives manufacturers a basis for investment, but appropriations remain a separate step. Reuters reported that Congress had not yet approved the funding for this group of agreements, and industry executives cautioned that major expansion in parts and facilities could depend on those decisions. The Navy has not published a missile-by-missile delivery timetable for the new SM-6 contract.