Raytheon joint venture wins $1.25B Israeli Iron Dome contract

Raytheon-Rafael Protection Systems (R2S), a joint venture between Arlington County–based Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor RTX and Israel‘s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, has been awarded a $1.25 billion contract to supply Israel with Tamir surface-to-air missiles for that nation’s Iron Dome air defense system.

RTX, which participates in the venture through its Raytheon business, announced the award last week. The direct commercial sales contract includes missiles, missile kits and test equipment, according to the company.

“This is the first production contract for the R2S joint venture and a major milestone for both Raytheon and Rafael,” said Jonathan Casey, R2S CEO, in a statement.

R2S will perform work at a new facility that opened earlier this month in East Camden, Arkansas. The companies invested $63 million to build the facility, which was established to support Israel’s missile defense organizations within the Ministry of Defense.

The site will be used to produce the Tamir missiles for Israel’s Iron Dome Weapon System and its U.S. variant, SkyHunter for the Marine Corps’ Medium-Range Intercept Capability program.

“The new Camden site is the first all-up-round production facility in the U.S. to manufacture Tamir and SkyHunter missiles,” Casey said.

Raytheon and Rafael have partnered for over a decade on the Iron Dome system, developed by Rafael and operational since 2011. According to RTX, Israel’s Iron Dome has intercepted thousands of threats with a success rate of more than 95%.

RTX said the U.S. equivalent, SkyHunter, is a short to medium-range air defense weapon designed to counter a range of threats, including cruise missiles, aircraft, rockets, artillery and mortars.

RTX has more than 185,000 employees globally and reported more than $80.73 billion in 2024 sales. The contractor is the second highest-ranked Virginia-based company on the 2025 Fortune 500. RTX’s Raytheon business unit is also based in Arlington.