None of that potential business is included in Raytheon’s backlog today, giving RTX an additional source of prospective growth beyond orders already secured. Calio said during the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call that discussions with the department on converting the framework agreements into definitive contracts remained ongoing and had been productive.
RTX is not waiting for the contracts to be completed before preparing the industrial base. The company is already working with suppliers on expected volumes, future capacity requirements and the investments needed to support higher production rates.
That preparation includes reducing dependence on sole-source suppliers in constrained parts of the supply chain. Calio said RTX is pursuing second and third sources and is also talking to companies outside the traditional defense industrial base that could add capacity if the prospective order volumes justify new investment.
The central issue, according to Calio, is giving suppliers enough visibility to commit capital and labor before demand materializes at higher rates. Multi-year procurement would allow manufacturers to invest in tooling, test equipment and additional employees with greater confidence that the increased production levels will be sustained.
“If you can go out and give a supplier or a set of suppliers a seven-year firm order, they will lean forward; they will make the investment,” Calio said. “They will bring in that tooling and test equipment; they will hire people in advance to be able to get to those rates.”
The framework agreements are tied closely to the broader U.S. defense spending outlook. Calio said the proposed base budget exceeding $1 trillion, together with multi-year procurement requests and bipartisan congressional support for increased munitions output, represented a strong long-term demand signal for RTX.
Raytheon has already moved production higher across its existing weapons portfolio. Calio said output across critical munitions more than doubled year over year during the first half of 2026, while improving material receipts from suppliers supported higher production on mature programs.
The next production increase will require another step up from the supply base, Calio said. RTX is investing in supply-chain resilience and additional sources in constrained areas to support both the existing backlog and the additional requirements that may enter the business through the framework agreements.
For RTX, the multi-year structure may ultimately determine how quickly that industrial expansion takes place. Calio described long-term purchasing commitments as potentially the biggest factor in moving suppliers to the next level of capacity, giving them the certainty needed to invest ahead of a sustained increase in U.S. munitions demand.
