Raytheon receives $102 million Navy order to restart MK 45 launch line

Raytheon Missiles and Defense reopens the MK 45 Capsule Launch System production line in Tucson, mitigating obsolescence and redesigning the Eject Initiation Subsystems for the Navy through July 2030.

First Published: July 9, 2026, 5:23 PM ET

Raytheon Technologies received a $101.9 million Navy order to restart production of the MK 45 Capsule Launch System.

The Naval Air Systems Command awarded Raytheon Technologies, Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, Arizona, a not-to-exceed $102 million undefinitized cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001926F0259) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001925G0009). The order funds non-recurring engineering for the MK 45 production line restart. That work includes obsolescence mitigation; design, development, fabrication, integration, inspection and testing; technical data package updates; integration of the updated system; and redesign of the Eject Initiation Subsystems. The effort supports delivery of a limited production quantity of updated MK 45 Capsule Launch Systems for the Navy (see war.gov).

Crews will perform the work in Tucson, Arizona (98%) and Camden, Arkansas (2%), with completion expected in July 2030. The order draws $13.8 million in fiscal 2024 weapons procurement funds, $14.9 million in fiscal 2025 funds and $22.2 million in fiscal 2026 funds, all obligated at award. The contract was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (see war.gov).

Raytheon Technologies is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, and one of the largest defense manufacturers in the world by revenue (see wikipedia.org). The company formed in 2020 through a merger of the Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation and took the name RTX Corporation in July 2023 (see wikipedia.org). Raytheon Missiles and Defense, based in Tucson, produced air and missile defense systems, precision weapons, radars and command and control systems before merging into the Raytheon business segment (see wikipedia.org).

This order marks the fourth contract awarded to the Tucson unit in 2026, raising its total contract value for the year to $1.24 billion. It falls short of the company’s record award of $1.11 billion but ranks notably within a 2026 Navy portfolio that spans a $9.2 million minimum and an $8 billion maximum. The award was one of four Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 9, 2026.