Raytheon expands Sidewinder supplier base in U.S., Europe

The U.S. Navy is paying Raytheon up to $30.2 million to line up additional suppliers for key parts of the AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, including the cooling engine for its heat-seeking sensor and its warhead components.

The undefinitized contract modification, announced by the U.S. Department of War, covers engineering work to qualify new manufacturing sources for several AIM-9X components. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Maryland, awarded it without competition, and the work is due to be finished in February 2030.

Qualifying a second source means testing and approving another factory to make a part that currently comes from only one supplier, so that production does not stop if that supplier falls behind or shuts down. The notice lists the parts involved: the cryoengine, which cools the missile’s infrared seeker so it can detect a target’s heat; connectors and wiring harnesses; sensor platform and warhead components; components of the optical target detector, which senses when the missile is close enough to its target to detonate; and parts of the inertial measurement unit, which tracks the missile’s movement in flight.

The work will be spread across the United States and Europe. About half, 51%, will take place at Raytheon’s missile plant in Tucson, Arizona. Another 19% is set for Schrobenhausen, Germany, 12% for Anaheim, California, and 8% for Heilbronn, Germany, with smaller shares in Camarillo, California; Delémont, Switzerland; Midland, Ontario; and Logan, Utah.

The modification is a cost-plus-incentive-fee arrangement, meaning the government covers Raytheon’s costs and pays a fee that depends on performance. Because it is undefinitized, work can begin before final prices and terms are agreed, up to a $30.2 million ceiling. The Navy committed $29.6 million in fiscal 2025 weapons procurement funds at the time of award.

The AIM-9X is the latest version of the Sidewinder, a short-range, heat-seeking missile carried by U.S. and allied fighter jets and also fired from the ground by the NASAMS air defense system. The U.S. Navy leads the program jointly with the U.S. Air Force, and more than 35 allied and partner nations use the missile.

In June 2026, the U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon a $1.1 billion contract for more than 1,900 AIM-9X Block II missiles, including 1,653 for U.S. inventories and 336 for foreign customers, with work running through September 2029. That followed another $1.1 billion AIM-9X award in June 2025, then the largest in the program’s history. Raytheon says it is raising AIM-9X production capacity to about 2,500 missiles a year.