JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (October 1, 2025) Sailors assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 30 transport an AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) using a Munition Handling Unit prior to installation on board a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, October 1, 2025. VP-30’s mission is to provide P-8A and MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) specific training to pilots, Naval flight officers, and enlisted aircrew prior to reporting to the fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Curtis D. Spencer.)
By Tony Capaccio (Bloomberg) – RTX Corp. reached deals with the Department of Defense to speed up production of five key weapons, including a new version of the Tomahawk missile designed to target warships, weeks after President Donald Trump singled out the company as “least responsive” to the Pentagon’s needs.
The agreements, which last as long as seven years, also cover a multi-purpose missile considered crucial to intercepting Chinese ballistic anti-ship missiles, the company announced Wednesday.
The framework accord was reached about a month after Trump, in a social media post, assailed RTX as part of his demand that defense contractors spend less on stock buybacks and dividends. He even threatened to stop doing business with RTX, which produces one version of the popular Patriot missile system and is the sole maker of the engine for the F-35 stealth fighter jet.
At the time, RTX had already begun negotiations on the framework and the talks continued afterward, according to a person familiar with the timing who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
Under the deal, RTX will boost annual Tomahawk production to more than 1,000 and increase yearly numbers of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles to at least 1,900.
Production of the SM-6, which is meant to intercept Chinese anti-ship missiles, will grow to more than 500. Output of the SM-3 IIA and SM-3 IB will also rise.
The statement didn’t mention the current numbers, but the company said “many of these munitions will grow two to four times their existing production rates.”
The deal fits with Trump’s push to increase military spending and address shortfalls exposed by high demand for many missiles used in Yemen operations against Houthi rebels and defending Israel from Iranian missiles.
“These agreements redefine how government and industry can partner to speed the delivery of critical technologies and are a direct result of the administration’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy and commitment to deliver the best technologies faster,” RTX Chief Executive Officer Chris Calio said in the statement.
The arrangement with the Defense Department incorporates “a collaborative funding approach designed to preserve upfront free cash flow, allowing RTX to invest confidently to meet long-term demand,” according to the statement.
This marks another in a string of major munitions agreements under Trump’s Pentagon. They include frameworks with Lockheed Martin Corp. to boost Thaad and Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors.
RTX had earlier said it plans to increase capital spending to $3.1 billion this year, a rise of $500 million, to enhance production capacity for equipment and munitions such as the Tomahawk.
The plans call for adding automation and other factory equipment to improve output and speed delivery to the Pentagon. RTX in its statement cited investments at Huntsville, Alabama, McKinney, Texas and Tucson, Arizona, intended to increase missile production.
Among the missiles, two stand out. One is a new anti-ship Maritime Tomahawk, a weapon that Admiral Daryl Caudle, the Chief of Naval Operations, once called a “game-changer” against a numerically superior Chinese fleet. The US Navy had intended to start fielding the anti-ship version on destroyers by last year.
The second is the SM-6, the US’s only missile for anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare and sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense. It was first used in combat in 2024 against drones operated by Houthi militants in the Gulf of Aden, RTX said Wednesday.
The missile is also part of the US Army’s ground-based Typhon launcher system for extended-range, anti-ship capability. RTX is under a $1 billion multi-year contract for 625 missiles that was issued in 2019 and runs through 2026.
Its most important role, however, may be defending Navy ships from a satellite-guided Chinese missile dubbed the “carrier-killer.” The final appropriations bill for this fiscal year includes $378 million, an increase over the Pentagon’s $187 million request — for “additional SM-6 quantities to accelerate multi-year procurement.”
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.
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