Raytheon has been awarded a contract worth up to $20.7 billion to produce the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, with the goal of raising annual output to at least 1,900 missiles, nearly double the previous rate. The award was announced in late September.

The agreement is a five-year multiyear deal with two option years. It covers missiles for the U.S. Air Force and Navy as well as foreign military sales customers. AMRAAM arms the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-22 and F-35 fleets, and more than 35 countries operate variants of the missile.

The scale is the story. Reporting on the award describes it as roughly six times larger than the previous biggest AMRAAM contract, a $3.5 billion deal in July 2025. Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Duffey tied the award to rebuilding stockpiles after heavy weapons use during the Iran War, saying it is meant to build what he called the Arsenal of Freedom.

The structure matters as much as the dollar figure. Like the SM-6 award announced days later, the deal replaces year-by-year purchases with a longer commitment that gives Raytheon and its suppliers the visibility to invest in capacity. The “up to” value is a ceiling, so actual quantities will depend on how the services and allied buyers use the contract.

Sources: Army Recognition; Defense Communities.