Washington, Sept. 29 (SANA)The Pentagon awarded RTX’s Raytheon a provisional multiyear contract worth up to $20.7 billion to accelerate production of AMRAAM missiles as the U.S. military seeks to replenish weapons stockpiles depleted by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, Reuters reported. RTX said the five-year contract includes two option years.
The United States has supplied large quantities of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its military operations in Iran, raising concerns about inventories of key air-defense and precision-guided weapons.
Separately, Washington in May approved $8.6 billion in arms sales to Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates after Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited emergency circumstances to fast-track the transfers without prior congressional review.
The approvals included $992.4 million in Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems and related equipment for Israel and $2.5 billion in battle command systems for Kuwait. Qatar was approved for nearly $5 billion in precision-guided weapons and Patriot air- and missile-defense replenishment, while the United Arab Emirates was cleared for a $147.6 million precision-guided weapons package.
The sales came as Israel and Gulf states faced Iranian missile and drone attacks that depleted stocks of U.S.-made weapons and strained their air-defense systems, according to Al Jazeera.
Pentagon pushes to expand missile production
RTX said it nearly doubled AMRAAM production in 2025 compared with 2024. The company has set an annual production target of at least 1,900 missiles under production agreements with the Pentagon.
The prospective AMRAAM deal is the latest in a series of large munitions contracts pursued by the Pentagon to accelerate weapons production. It follows a seven-year Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement procurement agreement with Lockheed Martin valued at up to $58.62 billion.
Industry executives have cautioned that Congress has not yet appropriated the funding needed to support the full AMRAAM multiyear commitment, Reuters reported. Without those appropriations, contractors may be unable to make large-scale investments in components and production facilities.
Such multiyear agreements are intended to give defense contractors greater certainty to expand production capacity and accelerate deliveries, supporting investment in workers, suppliers and manufacturing facilities to meet longer-term demand. Reuters said the agreements are part of a broader Trump administration effort to prioritize increased weapons production.
If Congress provides the funding, the contract would allow RTX to continue investing in its workforce, supply chain and facilities as U.S. demand rises.
AMRAAM’s air-defense role
AMRAAM, or Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, is a beyond-visual-range weapon used by U.S. and allied fighter aircraft and also serves as the primary interceptor for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS. RTX said AMRAAM operates on 14 platforms and is fielded by 44 countries.
The contract forms part of the Pentagon’s “Arsenal of Freedom” initiative, a broader effort to increase U.S. weapons production.
U.S. weapons inventories under pressure
An April report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the United States had enough missiles to continue operations in the Iran war under plausible scenarios but warned that depleted inventories posed risks for future conflicts, particularly against a peer competitor such as China.
The report, which examined seven key munitions, estimated that rebuilding their inventories to prewar levels could take between one and four years. It said prewar stocks were already considered insufficient for a peer-competitor conflict and that depleted inventories could constrain U.S. operations in a future war.
In June, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon had told lawmakers it needed about $80 billion to cover costs from the Iran war and other expenses. Reuters said at the time that it could not independently verify the report.
Days later, the White House formally asked Congress for $87.6 billion in additional funding, including $67.15 billion for the military. The administration said the request included money for Iran-war operational costs, military readiness and rebuilding weapons stockpiles.
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