EAST HARTFORD, Conn., March 10, 2026, 15:19 EDT
Pratt & Whitney, the RTX subsidiary, on Tuesday announced it secured another order from Leidos Dynetics for its TJ150 engines, set for use in the AGM-190A small cruise missile—another notch in RTX’s missile propulsion portfolio. No dollar figure was released. The TJ150 puts out over 150 pounds of thrust and, according to the company, more than 2,700 units have shipped worldwide. “Speed and reliable performance”—that’s what the engine brings to current mission requirements, said Jessica Villardi, vice president of Fighter and Mobility Programs. RTX
Timing is key here. Just days back, President Donald Trump sat down with top brass from RTX, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris, and Northrop Grumman. The Pentagon has been leaning on defense contractors to ramp up weapons output—recent military ops have left stockpiles thin. According to Reuters, the Pentagon might now ask for around $50 billion in supplemental funds to replenish munitions spent in the Middle East. That’s on top of another $150 billion for defense already tucked into the Republicans’ massive budget bill.
Just a few weeks back, Leidos announced its small cruise missile picked up the official AGM-190A tag from the U.S. Air Force. In tests from a C-130, the roughly 200-pound weapon clocked a standoff range topping 400 nautical miles. Defense Sector President Cindy Gruensfelder said the new designation signals the Air Force’s trust in what she called an “affordable” and flexible strike platform. Leidos
RTX is ramping up missile production elsewhere, too. Back in February, Raytheon—an RTX unit—secured a seven-year Pentagon deal to push Tomahawk cruise missile manufacturing as high as 1,000 units per year, bump AMRAAM output to a minimum of 1,900 annually, and increase SM-3 and SM-6 interceptor rates. Those contracts came on the heels of similar agreements Lockheed Martin struck for PAC-3 and THAAD systems. RTX Chief Executive Chris Calio said the structure could “speed the delivery of critical technologies.” Reuters
Contractors are ramping up factory investment across the board. According to Reuters, five major U.S. defense firms are on track to boost capital outlays by almost 38% this year. Scott Mikus at Melius Research credits the White House’s “carrot-and-stick approach”: multi-year contracts are driving plant upgrades, while tighter scrutiny on buybacks and executive compensation is keeping management zeroed in on output. Reuters
RTX is picking up new defense contracts just as it’s riding a broader upswing. Back in January, the company put out a 2026 adjusted sales target between $92 billion and $93 billion, after notching a roughly 12% revenue jump in the fourth quarter. Those gains were fueled by increased engine sales, strong military orders, and a busy stretch for aircraft repairs.
The story isn’t entirely straightforward. Just last month, Airbus trimmed its key A320neo-family production goal, pinning the decision squarely on Pratt & Whitney’s lagging engine deliveries. Chief Executive Guillaume Faury didn’t mince words, calling Airbus “very dissatisfied”—a sign of mounting pressure on RTX’s engine business as it juggles engine allocations between production lines and maintenance facilities. Reuters
RTX slipped roughly 0.4% during afternoon hours in New York.
