The Pentagon’s budget proposal for fiscal 2016 would spend billions of dollars for weapons made by Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems, including more than $200 million for Tomahawk cruise missiles and a big order for a new precision-guided glide bomb.
The proposed 2016 budget released Monday includes $210 million for procurement of 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles by the Navy.
Last year, the Navy had proposed a hiatus in Tomahawk production after fiscal 2015, citing thousands of missiles in inventory and expectations for a next-generation missile. But Raytheon said the plan would jeopardize future production capabilities, and critics in Congress including Sen. John McCain, now head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted the move and appropriated $82 million to buy 96 more Tomahawks this year.
The 2016 Pentagon budget proposal also requests $269 million for continued development and procurement of the Small Diameter Bomb II, a medium-range, all-weather weapon that can hit moving targets on the ground. The budget request would pay for continued engineering, manufacturing development and low-rate initial production of 2,005 SDB IIs for the Air Force and Navy. The Air Force is budgeted to procure 144 of the bombs in the current fiscal year.
People are also reading…
The Pentagon also has proposed significant purchases of other key Raytheon weapon systems, including:
• $1.6 billion for the sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system, including ship launch systems made by Lockheed Martin and procurement of 40 Standard Missile-3 Block IB interceptors made by Raytheon;
• $665.6 million for upgrades of Raytheon’s AIM-120D Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and procurement of 429 of the missiles;
• $582 million for production of Standard Missile-6 ship-defense missiles;
• $424 million for 733 AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles;
• $144 million to buy 30 Evolved SeaSparrow ship-defense missiles.
