- Raytheon Missiles and Defense received a $213.4 million contract modification on April 20, 2026, for Zumwalt-class combat system integration and modernization work.
- Work spans six U.S. locations and is expected to be completed by April 2027, funded through multiple Navy appropriations streams.
Raytheon Missiles and Defense has been awarded a $213.4 million contract modification to continue combat system work aboard the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyers, the Department of War announced on April 20, 2026.
The award exercises options under a previously issued contract and covers installation, integration, development, testing, correction, maintenance, and modernization of Zumwalt-class mission systems and mission system equipment.
The contract was awarded by Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., and structured as a combination of cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-only arrangements — a hybrid vehicle that reflects the developmental nature of some of the work involved. Performance is expected to be complete by April 2027. Work will be distributed across six locations: Portsmouth, Rhode Island, which carries the largest share at 39 percent; Tewksbury, Massachusetts at 32 percent; Pascagoula, Mississippi at 14 percent; Nashua, New Hampshire at 9 percent; San Diego, California at 5 percent; and Fort Wayne, Indiana at 1 percent.
Funding for the award draws from multiple appropriations streams, underscoring how broadly the Navy is investing in the Zumwalt program. Fiscal 2026 operations and maintenance funds account for $29.76 million, or 59 percent of the obligated amount. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion funds contribute $8.26 million at 17 percent, while fiscal 2026 other procurement funds add $4.75 million at 10 percent. Fiscal 2025 other procurement funds provide $3.66 million at 7 percent, fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds contribute $2.5 million at 5 percent, and fiscal 2026 RDT&E funds round out the package at $1.18 million, or 2 percent. Of the total obligated at award, $32.26 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The Zumwalt class — comprising USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), and USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) — represents the Navy’s most technologically ambitious surface combatant program. The three destroyers were designed around a radical tumblehome hull form intended to reduce radar cross-section, an integrated power system that generates electricity for both propulsion and weapons, and an advanced gun system originally intended to provide naval surface fire support. Their mission systems architecture is correspondingly complex, built to support a range of combat functions that have continued to evolve since the ships were laid down.
Raytheon’s role under this contract spans the full lifecycle of that mission systems suite — from initial installation and integration through ongoing testing, deficiency correction, and modernization. That breadth of scope is significant. Combat system integration on a ship of this complexity is not a one-time engineering event but a continuous process of validating that hardware, software, and weapons interfaces perform as intended across an evolving threat environment. The inclusion of development work within the contract scope suggests that elements of the Zumwalt mission systems package are still being refined rather than simply maintained.
The Zumwalt class has had a long and complicated path to operational relevance. The original fleet size was cut from 32 ships to three as costs escalated, and the Advanced Gun System — the centerpiece of the original design — was effectively rendered inoperable when the Navy cancelled its associated Long Range Land Attack Projectile munition due to per-round cost prohibitions. The Navy subsequently pivoted to equipping the Zumwalts with the Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missile system, repositioning the class from a surface fire support platform to a long-range precision strike asset. That transition has required extensive rework of the ships’ combat and mission systems — precisely the kind of work this contract is designed to support.
The $213 million award signals that the Navy remains committed to bringing the Zumwalt class to a genuine operational strike capability rather than writing off its investment in the program. With a completion deadline of April 2027 and funding drawn from both current and prior fiscal years, the contract reflects a sustained, multi-year effort to deliver on the platform’s revised promise.