The U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed the award of a new contract worth US$3.5 billion to Raytheon for the production of new AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles intended for the armed forces of allied countries. The agreement falls under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program and includes more than a dozen allied nations that received authorization from the State Department—with subsequent Congressional approval—to acquire these new air-to-air missiles for their fleets of fighter aircraft and other air defense systems.
According to the official statement, the contract covers not only the manufacture of AIM-120 missiles, corresponding to lots 39 and 40, but also associated telemetry systems, spare parts and components, support tasks, and production engineering. With this award, Raytheon secures one of the largest contracts ever granted for the AMRAAM missile family, significantly surpassing the US$1.2 billion deal signed in 2023. However, it has not yet been confirmed how many missiles will be provided under the contract.
The related work will be carried out at Raytheon’s facilities, with a timeline that anticipates deliveries to be completed by the third quarter of 2031. The entity overseeing the contract is the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), through its Air Dominance Division. On the other hand, the signed contract includes the supply of missiles to Denmark, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Israel, and Kuwait, reflecting the global reach of the system and its standardization among the United States’ key allies.
The AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, recognized for their effectiveness as medium-range air-to-air weapons with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) capability, continue to consolidate their role as a key pillar in the integrated air defense architecture of numerous U.S. allies. Their versatility allows them to be integrated into virtually all U.S.-made fighter aircraft, as well as a wide range of combat platforms used by NATO countries, the Asia-Pacific region, and Eastern Europe.
However, their application is not limited to the air domain: AMRAAMs are also used as surface-to-air missiles in the well-known NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System), jointly developed by Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg Defence—further underscoring their versatility.
Finally, it is worth noting that in a global context marked by multiple conflict hotspots and a growing aerial threat, demand for AMRAAM missiles has increased significantly. This rise can be attributed to their continued use in various operational theaters, such as Houthi drone attacks in the Middle East, defensive missions over Syria and Iraq, recent Iranian attacks on Israel, and the ongoing air defense campaign in Ukraine.
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