US Air Force picks Raytheon over Boeing and Lockheed Martin for $985M HACM contract

RTX (Raytheon)/HACM (Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile)

The Air Force awarded Raytheon a $985 million contract to develop and demonstrate HACM, a scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile for fighter jets, narrowing the competition from three companies to one. The goal was a combat-ready weapon in fiscal 2027.

• Contract value $985M; Boeing and Lockheed Martin lost the down-select.
• Moves the design from prototyping toward an operational weapon integrated on fighters.
• Flight tests planned in Australia under the US-Australia SCIFiRE agreement.