Raytheon received nearly $1 billion to produce upgraded AMRAAM missiles for the U.S. and 19 allies

The U.S. Air Force has signed a contract with Raytheon to produce and deliver upgraded AMRAAM missiles.

Here's What We Know

This is the first contract to produce an entire batch of AIM-120D3 and AIM-120C8 guided missiles from the F3R program. The upgraded missiles feature upgraded software and hardware.

The cost of the contract is $972 million. In addition to the U.S. Air Force new missiles will be delivered to 19 allies. They are Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Canada, Denmark, Qatar, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Singapore, Switzerland, South Korea and Japan.

The AIM-120D3 is the latest version of the AMRAAM. The first live launches of the missile took place in early summer 2022. The U.S. Air Force was able to successfully destroy a full-scale air object during the exercise. The U.S. will conduct at least two more launches before the end of the year. Raytheon plans to complete delivery of the upgraded missiles by August 2025.

Source: Defense Brief

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