The U.S. Navy has signed a $22.9 billion deal with defense contractor Raytheon to speed up its production of advanced Tomahawk missiles in Tucson.
The new contract comes as the military has faced criticisms that it’s burned through its stockpile of munitions during the almost six month war with Iran.
The Navy does not disclose how many weapons it uses in conflicts. But a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates 850 were used in the first month of the war, about a quarter of the prewar stash.
Raytheon didn’t say how quickly it would start producing more missiles at its Tucson facility. It did say it’s aiming to ramp up production to about 1,000 a year following a different deal with the Navy signed in February.
Raytheon didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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