The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon a $349 million contract on August 28 for Phase 2 of the Maritime Strike Tomahawk Rapid Deployment Capability, which will follow Phase 1 design and integration efforts as well as test and evaluation. Work under the contract will be completed in February 2023.
The Navy is currently recertifying its existing inventory of Tomahawk Block IV missiles, which involves modifying the weapons into the modernized Block V configuration. The Tomahawk recertification process involves extending the life of some 3,790 missiles by 15 years. A number of missiles will also be upgraded to the Block Va Maritime Strike Tomahawk or Block Vb Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System configuration. MST enables anti-ship capabilities, while JMEWS is a penetrating warhead intended for hardened targets.
Raytheon also received a $7.2 million contract on August 22 for an updated technical data package of the MST guidance test set and additional hardware and software upgrade work.
The Pentagon’s FY20 budget request included 20 MST upgrade kits, with a total of 375 MST kits funded through FY24.
The Navy previously utilized Tomahawk anti-ship missiles during the Cold War, but the weapons were ultimately taken out of service following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As editor of International Military Markets, North America, Shaun has cultivated a deep understanding of the vast defense markets in the United States and Canada. Shaun's perspective on defense procurement and budget issues has been cited in a variety of defense periodicals, including Defense News and National Defense Magazine. Further, Shaun played an integral role in the development of Forecast International's U.S. Defense Budget Forecast product, which offers an unprecedented level of insight into the Pentagon's acquisition budget. In addition to providing original analytical content for the U.S. Defense Budget Forecast, Shaun oversees an internal defense budget forecasting process involving Forecast International's team of skilled systems analysts following release of the DoD's annual budget request. Shaun is also in charge of managing Forecast International's Weapons Inventory database.
