Raytheonโs Tucson-based unit will make 1,500 more copies of a new precision-guided bomb and ramp up work on a new hypersonic missile for the Air Force under year-end contract awards totaling more than $750 million.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon a $345 million contract to produce and deliver the latest production run of the air-launched GBU-53B StormBreaker smart bomb, a network-enabled weapon that can engage moving targets in all weather conditions with a multi-effects warhead and tri-mode target seeker.
Raytheon also was recently awarded a $408 million contract modification for work on the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile-Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment, or HACM-SCIFiRE.
Work on the StormBreaker contract, which follows a $320 million contract award for production last March, will be performed in Tucson and is expected to be completed by the end of August 2028, the Defense Department said in a contract notice.
This contract includes production allies Norway, Germany, Italy and Finland, the Pentagon said.
The StormBreaker, also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II, is fielded on the F-15E Strike Eagle and F/A-18E/F SuperHornet jets, with testing underway on all variants of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Across those platforms, StormBreaker completed 28 test drops in 2023, Raytheon said.
The weaponย โ roughly six feet long and about 7 inches in diameterย โ features a tri-mode millimeter-wave radar, infrared and semi-active laser target seeker, along with jam-resistant GPS and inertial navigation. It has a two-way data link to send and receive updated targeting information, allowing to identify and classify targets.
โWith this contract, weโll continue to evolve StormBreakerโs production to meet the needs of servicemembers for years to come,โ Paul Ferraro, president of air power at Raytheon, said in announcing the contract.
The Air Force and Navy initially planned to buy a combined 17,000 StormBreakers, but that number was upped to more than 26,000 in 2022.
Artistโs rendering of an air-breathing hypersonic missile prototype developed by Raytheon with Northrop Grumman and selected for the Air Forceโs Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile program.
Meanwhile, the HACM contract line item represents new work under a parent contract awarded to Raytheon in September 2022, which has a potential value of up to $985 million, Raytheon said.
Raytheon rivals Lockheed Martin and Boeing had also bid for the competitive program, which is among several hypersonic missile programs fast-tracked in the face of advanced development of hypersonics by Russia and China.
Several weapon systems made by Tucson-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense are helping Ukraine fend off Russia's invasion.
