Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $43.2 M firm-fixed price contract modification to produce an additional 142 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM). This is the third additional order for missiles in the Lot 16 contract, which brings the total number of missiles ordered in Lot 16 to 916, with a total contract value of more than $333 M.
The Lot 16 contract provides five additional years of fixed-price options (Lot 17-21) with a potential contract value of nearly $2 B and a total quantity of up to 5000 missiles. The award was made by the US Air Force Air Armament Center Counterair Joint Systems Program office (JPSO), Eglin Air Force Base, FL. The Lot 16 missiles will be produced for the US Air Force and Navy as well as a number of international customers. Work will be performed at Raytheon's facilities in Tucson, AZ, and Andover, MA. Final assembly and delivery will occur in Tucson. Lot 16 production is expected to be complete in August 2004. AMRAAM is a software-driven, radar-guided missile that gives pilots the ability to "launch and leave" and to engage multiple targets during a single engagement. To date, more than 12,000 missiles have been produced for the US and international customers.
AMRAAM is fully operational on the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, the German F4F, the UK Sea Harrier, Swedish JA-37 Viggen and the JAS Gripen. It is currently being integrated on the F-22, Eurofighter, Harrier II Plus, Tornado and the Joint Strike Fighter. AMRAAM has also been adapted to a surface-to-air role for air defense and is operational in Norway as the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and has been demonstrated in a Hawk-AMRAAM system and on a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)-based system called HUMRAAM. The US Marine Corps awarded a contract in 2001 to Raytheon for its version of HUMRAAM, called complementary low altitude weapon system (CLAWS), which will be introduced into operational service by 2005. The US Army also is generating a requirement for a HUMRAAM system, called Surface Launch AMRAAM (SLAMRAAM). The surface-launched AMRAAM market potential is estimated at more than 5000 missiles over the next 10 years.