Raytheon's Andover operation is one of three U.S. sites that will help accelerate Tomahawk cruise missile production under a $22.9 billion, seven-year Navy contract announced Aug. 17.

The deal positions the 350 Lowell St. facility alongside plants in Huntsville, Alabama, and Tucson, Arizona, to dramatically increase output of the long-range precision-strike weapon. RTX, Raytheon's parent company, said the contract gives it the stability to grow its workforce, expand manufacturing capacity and strengthen its supply chain.

"Tomahawk is the Navy's most important strike weapon, able to target hostile forces hundreds of miles away without ever risking the lives of our sailors," Phil Jasper, president of Raytheon, said in a company statement. "We are making significant investments in our workforce, technology, supply chain and facilities to dramatically boost production capacity and meet surging demand."

The contract was awarded through the Navy's Portfolio Acquisition Executive Munitions, a new organization created under the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act to speed up munitions production, according to Reuters. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao called the award a "landmark investment" that will accelerate missile delivery "at unprecedented speed."

RTX has already tripled Tomahawk deliveries in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, according to the company. The contract follows a February 2026 agreement between Raytheon and the Department of War to push annual Tomahawk production past 1,000 missiles. A single Block V Tomahawk costs $2.5 million in FY2026, according to We Are The Mighty.

The urgency traces to depleted stockpiles. Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. has expended more than 1,000 Tomahawks, with nearly one-third of the national stockpile used by August 2026.

For Andover, the award marks the second major Navy contract to touch the Lowell Street campus in two months. In July, Raytheon received a $1.8 billion contract extension for SPY-6 radar production at the same facility, which houses a gallium nitride foundry and is considered one of the company's most advanced manufacturing sites.

The pattern is clear. RTX reported 2025 sales exceeding $88 billion and has signaled that the seven-year Tomahawk deal will drive hiring and investment at all three production sites. The company said it plans to work with hundreds of small and mid-sized U.S. suppliers to support the higher production rate, though RTX has not disclosed how many workers are based in Andover or how many local jobs the contract could add.