The Pentagon on Wednesday awarded a $624 million contract to arms giant Raytheon to replenish more than 1,400 Stinger anti-air missiles sent to the Ukrainian military. The deal comes after President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing $40 billion in military aid for Ukraine.
According to a notice on the Department of Defense’s website, the contract must be fulfilled by July 2026, giving Raytheon four years to manufacture the shoulder-fired missiles. According to a company statement, Raytheon will produce 1,300 Stingers.
Although Raytheon stopped making these missiles in 2020, the defense firm won a contract in 2021 to start production again, mainly for foreign buyers, Reuters reported. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said in April that the US military has not purchased a Stinger in 18 years, and that some of the missile’s electronic components will need to be redesigned, as certain components are no longer commercially available.