Starting the week off at a brisk pace, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a dozen defense contracts Monday, worth a combined $1.375 billion. Lockheed Martin won the biggest contract -- a monster $852 million to supply special tooling and test equipment associated with its F-35 fighter jet. But Raytheon (RTN) won at least the second-biggest contract.
Valued at $200.5 million, Raytheon's contract modification requires the defense contractor to supply 354 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II All Up Round Tactical Low Rate Initial Production Lot 13 Missiles, plus 354 Block II Active Optical Target Detectors. The Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile used by fighter jets, usually in combat with other fighter jets. In use by the U.S. military and nine allied nations, more than 5,000 AIM-9X Sidewinders have been delivered to date.
Buyers of the missiles this time include both the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and also the governments of Morocco, Malaysia, Kuwait, and Oman.
This contract also includes the sale of 178 Block II Captive Air Training Missiles (CATMs), which have the appearance of live missiles, but lack both warheads and rocket motors, and also nine Special Air Training Missiles, which are live missiles equipped with a telemetry package in place of a warhead, and are used for test firings. Seven of the latter will go to the U.S. Navy, and two to Saudi Arabia. Other related equipment is also included in the order, completion of which is due in August 2015.
