IN Brief:
- RTX reported multiyear, undefinitized production contracts for Tomahawk and AMRAAM in the third quarter of 2026.
- Company management identified approximately $23 billion in Tomahawk awards and more than $14 billion for AMRAAM; the contracts supersede earlier frameworks.
- Raytheon quarterly sales rose 14% to $8.031 billion, while RTX’s total $340 billion backlog includes $164 billion attributed to defence.
RTX has recorded multiyear production contracts for Tomahawk cruise missiles and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), marking a further step from earlier procurement frameworks towards longer manufacturing commitments. The agreements were included in the company’s third-quarter 2026 results and described as undefinitized contracts, meaning that aspects of the final terms remain to be settled. They should not be presented as missiles already delivered, an immediate cash payment or evidence that the proposed higher production rates have been reached.
RTX management identified approximately $23 billion in Tomahawk awards and more than $14 billion for AMRAAM when discussing the quarter’s defence bookings. The company’s investor presentation listed $23.0 billion for Tomahawk and $14.3 billion for AMRAAM within Raytheon’s order activity. Those figures concern contractual awards booked during the reporting period, rather than a newly disclosed count of weapons handed over to the armed forces or revenue recognised entirely in the third quarter.
The new contracts follow framework agreements intended to support higher production over multiple years. RTX characterised the third-quarter step as converting those frameworks into undefinitized production contracts. Frameworks and production awards represent different stages of procurement: an earlier expression of intended demand does not itself establish a complete manufacturing schedule, while an undefinitized contract still requires work on its remaining terms and subsequent execution. The October results provide the later contracting development, not grounds to report the original frameworks again as separate awards.
Raytheon, RTX’s defence systems business, reported third-quarter sales of $8.031 billion, 14% above the $7.045 billion recorded in the same period of 2025. The company attributed the increase to higher volume on naval programmes and land and air defence systems, including Patriot, Standard Missile and Tomahawk. Operating profit rose 32% to $1.133 billion on a reported basis, supported by productivity, mix and programme volume, according to the segment results.
Longer production commitments can support investment in equipment, tooling and suppliers that would be harder to justify for a short series of individual orders. Missile production involves more than final assembly, with propulsion units, guidance electronics, flight controls, structures, testing and acceptance activities all required to progress at compatible rates. Adding capacity to one step cannot on its own raise the number of finished missiles if a component supplier or qualification stage remains constrained. RTX says it expects to invest in capacity and operations over the coming years to meet the contractual requirements.
The company has outlined intended manufacturing ramps for the two missile families. Its third-quarter investor material points to annual Tomahawk output rising above 1,000 units and AMRAAM production increasing towards 1,900 units a year. These are targets associated with the multiyear awards, not reported current output. Neither the earnings release nor the figures for booked awards provide a completed delivery schedule broken down by customer, variant or year.
The Tomahawk and AMRAAM programmes meet different operational and industrial requirements. Tomahawk is a long-range cruise missile used in maritime strike and land attack missions, while AMRAAM is an air-to-air guided weapon requiring integration with compatible aircraft and launch systems. Their production lines therefore use different system configurations and qualification arrangements even where common manufacturing disciplines apply. RTX has not published programme-specific supplier capacity data sufficient to test the proposed production ramps independently.
RTX ended September with a record $340 billion company backlog, divided into $176 billion of commercial work and $164 billion of defence work. The Raytheon segment’s investor presentation identified approximately $130 billion in backlog, but that figure is not interchangeable with the whole group’s defence backlog. The contract awards contributed to orders across an extended performance period and are distinct from the $25.0 billion of group sales RTX recognised in the third quarter.
Company-wide quarterly sales rose 11% year on year to $25.0 billion. RTX also increased its full-year 2026 forecast for adjusted sales to $97.0 billion–$97.5 billion and adjusted earnings per share to $7.65–$7.75. Those outlook figures span the company’s commercial aerospace and defence businesses; neither is a direct forecast of Tomahawk or AMRAAM output. The scale and timing of the missile programmes will emerge through contract definitization, production investment and subsequent deliveries.
RTX expects the new contracts to support increased manufacturing activity over several years rather than provide a one-quarter production surge. Management has described capacity and capital investment over the next two to three years as part of the ramp, with revenue and profit contributions following programme work over the multiyear terms. At this stage, the documented change is the move from earlier frameworks to booked, undefinitized production awards, accompanied by higher Raytheon sales and an enlarged defence order book.
