TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Tomahawk missile is one of Raytheon’s best known products. It’s made in Raytheon’s factory in Tucson. Now the company will be making a lot more of them with a 22.9 billion dollar contract to build seven thousand missiles.
Tomahawk Cruise missiles launching from US warships are often some of the first images we see when the US launches an attack. The Tomahawk’s ability to strike with precision from as far as a thousand miles away without putting a pilot in danger has made it the Pentagon’s go-to weapon since the 1991 Gulf War.
Once a rocket booster pushes it out of the launch tube, the booster drops off, wings unfold and the Tomahawk flies like a plane until it’s time to dive to its target.
The newest models do not need a target when they launch. They can circle and send back images while a remote operator looks for something to hit.
The Navy leans so heavily on the Tomahawk that defense planners worry the US is burning up too much of its reserves of Tomahawks and sophisticated missiles in general.
Media reports estimate the US has fired about a thousand Tomahawks since the Iran War began.
Now the Pentagon has signed a deal with Raytheon to build a thousand Tomahawks a year for the next seven years.
The contract is worth 22.9 Billion dollars.
A lot of that money could flow into the Tucson economy.
Tomahawks are built in Tucson by part of a local workforce of about 13 thousand workers.
Raytheon makes a wide range of weapons at sites around the country and the Iran War is boosting the need to make more.
