Raytheon Wins $247 Million Navy Contract for Phalanx and SeaRAM Close-In Weapon Systems
Raytheon has been awarded a $247,089,895 Navy contract for MK 15 Close-In Weapon System production, upgrades, conversions and overhauls, covering the Phalanx, the Land-based Phalanx Weapon System and SeaRAM. The award appeared in the Pentagon’s contract announcement for 29 September 2026, and work is due to finish in September 2030.
Raytheon, an RTX business, is based in Tucson, Arizona. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The notice says the contract was not competitively procured and that it supports both Navy and Army requirements, with the Army supplying the largest single block of money.
Raytheon MK 15 Phalanx Contract Details
The notice describes the work as production, upgrades, conversions and overhauls of MK 15 Close-In Weapon Systems, plus associated hardware, equipment and spares. All three configurations are named: Phalanx, the Land-based Phalanx Weapon System and SeaRAM.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Contractor | Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona |
| Value | $247,089,895, firm-fixed-price |
| Scope | Production, upgrades, conversions and overhauls of MK 15 CIWS (Phalanx, Land-based Phalanx, SeaRAM), with hardware, equipment and spares |
| Customers | US Navy and US Army |
| Competition | Not competitively procured |
| Contract number | N0001926C5406 |
| Contracting activity | Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland |
| Completion | September 2030 |
| Announced | 29 September 2026 |
What Is the Phalanx CIWS?
Phalanx is a radar-guided 20 mm rotary cannon built to shoot down anti-ship missiles and other threats that get through a ship’s outer defences. The system entered service in 1980 and was originally developed by General Dynamics; it is now a Raytheon product. Wikipedia gives its rate of fire as 4,500 rounds a minute. The Block 1B upgrade, introduced in 1999, added a forward-looking infrared sensor so operators can identify and engage surface targets.
In a September 2025 release, RTX said Phalanx protects all US Navy surface combatant classes and those of 24 allied nations, and cited an episode in January 2024 when USS Gravely used it against a Houthi missile in the Red Sea. That is the company’s account of the engagement.
What Are SeaRAM and Land-Based Phalanx?
SeaRAM pairs the Phalanx search and track sensors with the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile in place of the gun. It gives a ship a missile-based close-in defence in roughly the footprint of a Phalanx mount.
The Land-based Phalanx Weapon System is the Army’s ground version, better known as the Centurion C-RAM. It uses the same 20 mm gun with self-destruct ammunition, so rounds that miss burn out or explode instead of falling on a base, and it is used against rockets, artillery and mortar rounds. The Army share of the new award is not small: Defence Blog adds the Army funding lines to about $104.2 million against about $136.4 million for the Navy.
How Is the $247 Million Contract Funded?
| Appropriation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Other procurement, Army (FY2026) | $83,000,000 |
| Other procurement, Navy (FY2026) | $51,400,000 |
| Operations and maintenance, Navy (FY2026) | $50,240,130 |
| Shipbuilding and conversion, Navy (FY2026) | $27,363,903 |
| Operations and maintenance, Army (FY2026) | $21,169,293 |
| Weapons procurement, Navy (FY2026) | $7,426,000 |
The work is spread across the country and abroad. Louisville, Kentucky, takes 33%, Tucson 7%, and Mason, Ohio 5%. Colchester, Vermont; Melbourne, Florida; and Ottobrunn, Germany each carry 4%, and a further 23% is assigned to unspecified locations in the continental United States.
How Does It Compare With the 2025 Phalanx Award?
A year earlier Raytheon won a smaller Phalanx-only award. The RTX release for that one put the value at $205 million and the work in Louisville and other US sites through 2029.
| Feature | September 2025 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Value | $205 million | $247.1 million |
| Systems named | Phalanx CIWS | Phalanx, Land-based Phalanx, SeaRAM |
| Customer | US Navy | US Navy and US Army |
| Completion | 2029 | September 2030 |
| Source | RTX release, 8 Sept 2025 | Pentagon notice, 29 Sept 2026 |
The wider gap is scope rather than price alone. The 2026 notice adds SeaRAM and the Army’s land-based mounts, and it runs a year longer. Raytheon’s other big air-defence award this month is covered in our report on the $20.7 billion AMRAAM contract.
Raytheon’s Rolling Airframe Missile Award in the Same Notice
The same Pentagon notice lists a separate Raytheon award: $57,837,147 for Rolling Airframe Missile Mod 5 guided missile launching system requirements and spares, for fiscal 2026 Navy and Foreign Military Sales production. It is a Naval Sea Systems Command contract (N00024-26-C-5404). The notice dates that award 25 September 2026, so it was announced on the 29th but not awarded on the same day as the CIWS deal.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Value | $57,837,147, firm-fixed-price |
| Contracting activity | Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C. |
| Main work locations | Louisville, Kentucky (41%); Ottobrunn, Germany (31%) |
| Foreign Military Sales funds | $28,105,150 (49%), Canada |
| Completion | November 2030 |
RTX Company Profile
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Arlington, Virginia |
| Formed | 3 April 2020 (United Technologies and Raytheon Company merger) |
| Employees | About 180,000 (2025) |
| Revenue | About $88.6 billion (2025) |
| Chief executive | Christopher T. Calio |
| Segments | Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon |
| Known programmes | Phalanx, SeaRAM, AMRAAM, Patriot, Standard Missile |
Phalanx CIWS Contract FAQ
How much is the Raytheon Phalanx contract worth?
$247,089,895, a firm-fixed-price contract announced on 29 September 2026.
What does the contract cover?
Production, upgrades, conversions and overhauls of MK 15 Close-In Weapon Systems, including Phalanx, Land-based Phalanx and SeaRAM, plus hardware, equipment and spares.
Was the contract competed?
No. The notice says it was not competitively procured.
Who pays for it?
The Navy and the Army. Army other-procurement money of $83 million is the largest single line among six funding accounts.
When will the work be finished?
The notice gives September 2030 as the expected completion date.
- US Department of War – Contracts for Sept. 29, 2026: war.gov; mirror: GlobalSecurity
- Defence Blog – “U.S. Navy and U.S. Army order more Phalanx guns”: defence-blog.com
- GuruFocus – Raytheon secures $247M contract for MK 15 weapon systems: gurufocus.com
- RTX – “Raytheon awarded $205 million contract for continued production of the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System” (8 September 2025): rtx.com
- Wikipedia – Phalanx CIWS; SeaRAM; Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar; RTX Corporation
[…] The same announcement listed a second Rockwell Collins award: a $13,763,859 modification to a 2017-numbered firm-fixed-price contract for full-rate production III supplemental spares, containers, software support and site support for TCTS II. Work is expected to run to September 2028, and Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division in Orlando is the contracting activity. Combined, the two Navy notices total roughly $263 million. Another RTX unit, Raytheon, also drew a recent Navy award for Phalanx and SeaRAM close-in weapon systems. […]