The U.S. Air Force has awarded RTX (NYSE: RTX) company Raytheon an approximately $1.05 billion sole source contract to upgrade the sensors on the F-22 Raptor fighter jets.
The Department of Defense said Friday the fixed-price-incentive, undefinitized contract provides for Group B hardware, spares and support equipment.
Work on the contract will be performed at Raytheon’s facilities in McKinney, Texas, until May 2029. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio serves as the contracting activity.
The upgrade is part of the Air Force’s effort to extend the lifespan of the F-22, which has been in service since the early 2000s. The military branch will divest 32 of its oldest F-22s, particularly the Block 20 variants that lack critical features newer models have such as enhanced radio systems and GPS and the addition of AIM-9X and AIM-120D. However, the remaining 154 Raptors in the USAF’s fleet will undergo modernization.
Under the Air Force’s fiscal 2025 budget request, a total of $7.8 billion is needed to procure new technologies and support research and development to improve the capabilities of the F-22 by 2030.
The enhancements are in line with the service’s Next Generation of Air Dominance initiative to gain air superiority.
