Army awards $84M contract to Raytheon for Excalibur replenishment

The Army has awarded an $84 million contract to Raytheon Missiles and Defense for more than 1,000 Excalibur 1B precision munitions to replenish U.S. stocks that have been transferred to Ukraine, the service announced Thursday.

Excalibur 155 mm rounds are long range artillery used for precision strikes in GPS-degraded and denied environments.

In October, the Pentagon announced that 500 M982 Excalibur rounds were being sent to Ukraine as part of a $625 million security assistant package.

Additionally, the compromise version of the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill, approved by the House last week, would grant multiyear authority to procure 12,050 Excalibur M982A1 rounds, as part of a group of munitions deemed critical for Ukraine and Taiwan.

The Raytheon contract announced on Thursday is a replenishment contract that was awarded Nov. 29, according to the Army. The contract utilized Tranche Seven funding and was awarded about 75 days after the funds were received, according to a press release.

Doug Bush, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, said in a statement Thursday that “the Army is focused on acquisition at speed in a responsible manner.”

“That applies to the Army’s support to Ukraine as well as routine program activity -- a winning strategy for our Soldiers, America and our allies,” he said.

According to the contract notice from the Defense Department, it has an estimated completion date of April 29, 2024.