Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded Raytheon Technologies [RTX] a $217 million contract to procure 154 Full-Rate Production (FRP) Block V Tactical Tomahawk All Up Round Vertical Launch Systems missiles for three separate military services, a first for the Tomahawk.
The contract is split into 70 missiles for the Navy, 54 for the Marine Corps and 30 for the Army.
This RFP contract is Lot 18 for the Tomahawk and Navy officials said this multi-service procurement expands integration of the missile into new firing platforms for the Marine Corps and Army.
“This is a major accomplishment for the program as we move forward into a new era for the Tomahawk Missile System. We look forward to delivering this capability not only to the fleet, but to our Marines and Soldiers around the globe,” Capt. John Red, Tomahawk Weapons System program manager (PMA-280), said in a statement.
The Lot 18 Tomahawks will be in the Block V configuration, which feature a navigation and communications upgrade that “maintains the capability for in-flight updates and improved navigation,” NAVAIR said.
In the future, Block V capabilities will cover the new Maritime Strike Tomahawk variant, called Block Va, and Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System (JMEWS), called Block Vb. The Maritime Strike variant is designed to be launched from ships and submarines while the JMEWS is designed to deliver a warhead with blast-fragmentation and enhanced penetration capabilities.
Currently, the tactical Tomahawk is launched from surface, subsurface or ground platforms as a long-range offensive weapon against both fixed and mobile targets.
The Marine Corps is developing and fielding a ground-based Tomahawk launcher while the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) is working with PMA-280 on the contract to help deliver the missiles on an accelerated schedule for their purposes.
RCCTO and the Army are using the Tomahawk modernization efforts, investment strategies and joint test events to develop its Mid-Range Capability program, which is expected to be delivered to the first Army unit in fiscal year 2023.
Defense Daily reported on this Army missile project in 2020, which is the result of a strategic fires study, with the Army looking into near-term capabilities to complement its long-range fires portfolio (Defense Daily, Sept. 2, 2020).
PMA-280 used legislation originally passed in 1932, the Economy Act 31 USC 1535 and 1536, allowing one agency to procure goods with another agency under certain circumstances to retain economies of scale, the Navy noted.
The contract work will be largely split among Tucson, Arizona (34 percent); Pontiac, Mich. (14 percent); Camden, Ark. (10 percent); Huntsville, Ala. (seven percent); Clearwater, Fla. (four percent); and several other locations in the continental U.S. The work is expected to be finished by January 2025.
Contract funding is split among $99 million in the FY ‘22 Navy weapons procurement account, $73 million in FY ‘22 Navy/Marine Corps ammunition procurement; $42 million in the FY ‘22 Army research and development account, and $3 million in the FY ‘22 Navy research and development account.