Mentioned:
RTX has struck a new deal with the United States Navy. And it’s going to significantly ramp up their production of American made missiles.
What’s happening:
- RTX (NYSE: RTX) owned business Raytheon has landed a $736M USD contract from the United States Navy to produce their AIM-9X SIDEWINDER missiles
Why it matters:
- Domestic missile production has been an important trend, which notably led unicorn defense tech startup Anduril to recently launch their own line of low cost, mass production Barracuda missiles
Going deeper:
- AIM-9X is the single most advanced missile in the world for infrared tracking, short range purposes and can be launched from the air or from a ground surface
- Many American allied countries currently use Raytheon’s AIM-9X missile including Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom
The intrigue:
- Defense tech startups have also been innovating at a rapid rate, which has led to legendary startup accelerator Y Combinator making their first ever investment into a defense tech company and prominent Silicon Valley venture capital fund Sequoia Capital previously leading the round for a startup building domestic drone manufacturing and production
