Navy begins implementing new Tomahawk strategy with two contracts to Raytheon

The Navy last week awarded Raytheon two key contracts for the service's revamped offensive missile strategy, one to restart the production line and another to upgrade older missiles, according to a Pentagon statement.

One award is a $147 million production contract for 90 Tactical Tomahawk all-up-round missiles. The other contract is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity award worth up to $493 million to recertify and modernize existing rounds with the navigation and communication kits associated with Block V ammunition, according to a March 27 Defense Department statement.

Lawmakers in the fiscal year 2019 defense spending bill directed the Navy secretary to conduct a "full review" of the Tomahawk program because the service's budget request did not follow plans the Navy committed to in FY-18. That review was to consider restarting the production line and continuing to upgrade older missiles, which the service ultimately proposed in the FY-20 budget request, Inside Defense reported.

The Defense Department statement does not specify how many missiles the Raytheon contract would modernize but the FY-20 budget documents said the service's spending request would include 112 Block V kits. Lawmakers in FY-20 appropriated those funds as requested.

The service in FY-21 is requesting $277 million to buy 155 new missiles and $164 million to continue upgrading older missiles, according to the most recent budget justification documents.

"The Navy will conduct further analysis to determine if TACTOM production will continue beyond" FY-21, according to the budget documents.