The Pentagon has signed a $22.9 billion contract with Raytheon to increase production of Tomahawk cruise missiles amid the ongoing war with Iran, according to a report published on August 17, 2026. The seven-year agreement plans to raise Tomahawk output to more than 1,000 missiles annually as reports emerge of declining US missile stocks. The contract follows extensive US use of long-range weapons during the conflict.

On Monday, acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the agreement would accelerate deliveries at an “unprecedented pace” to meet current operational needs. A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis estimated that US stocks of Patriot and THAAD interceptor missiles had fallen by about half or more since the conflict began. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously denied reports that US missile inventories were running low.

The report said a Tomahawk strike near Shajareh Tayebah Primary School in Minab, southern Iran, on February 28, 2026, killed more than 170 people, including students, most of them children. It said preliminary investigations and video analysis confirmed the strike resulted from a US military targeting error. Tomahawks are launched mainly from warships and submarines and can strike targets more than 1,600 kilometers away.