Raytheon Technologies has been awarded a $264 million contract by the US Navy to produce and deliver 571 short-range AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, with the bulk of the work to be completed by August 2026. The Sidewinder modification is a triple-threat missile that can be used for air-to-air engagements, surface-attack and surface-launch missions, and has 31 foreign military sales partners. However, Raytheon also announced that it will take a $500 million hit to free cash flow due to supply chain issues with the GTF engine made by its Pratt & Whitney subsidiary.
Sales and repairs at the aircraft engine units of General Electric and Raytheon Technologies are being boosted by a recovery in air travel, as Boeing and Airbus increase their production rates of new planes. General Electric's aerospace unit saw a 25% rise in sales in Q1 2021, while Raytheon's Pratt & Whitney engine unit sales increased 15% from a year earlier. The surge in travel demand has also increased demand for new jets and maintenance on older planes.
Raytheon Technologies reported better-than-expected earnings for Q1 2023, with earnings per share of $1.22 and sales of $17.2 billion. The company also announced a dividend increase and a record order backlog.
The US Army has selected Lockheed Martin and a Raytheon Technologies-Northrop Grumman team to develop a new missile form factor and propulsion system for the service’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 4, which has been renamed the Long Range Maneuverable Fires (LRMF) missile. The new missile is expected to have a range of at least 1,000 km, potentially double the range of the current version. The Army has allocated $33.3 million to Lockheed Martin and almost $100 million to the Raytheon team for the development and demonstration of the new missile.
