CHINA LAKE, California, — The U.S. Navy has completed the initial filling of seven Tomahawk cruise missile warheads at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in China Lake, California. The WDU-36/B warheads were filled with PBXN-107 explosives. If they pass first-article inspections, they will become the facility's first production units.
The development is part of a wider effort to increase Tomahawk production. In August 2026, the Navy awarded Raytheon a $22.9 billion contract to accelerate manufacturing, with a target of producing more than 1,000 missiles annually. China Lake aims to supply warheads ahead of Raytheon's requirements to keep deliveries to the fleet on schedule.
New Mixer to Increase Production Capacity
On November 9, NAWCWD installed a new 300-gallon mixer, manufactured by B&P Littleford, at the rebuilt Motor Assembly Compound. The equipment is expected to become operational around June 2027. Its mixing bowl weighs nearly 20,000 pounds.
The seven initial warheads were produced using an older 150-gallon mixer. The new facility layout will allow crews to cast and cure warheads in separate areas simultaneously. It will also reduce the transportation time for mixed explosive material from approximately one hour to just 15 minutes.
The rebuilt compound replaces facilities damaged in the 2019 earthquakes, with reconstruction beginning in 2022.
Navy and Industry Share Production Responsibilities
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems manufactures the warhead cases, while L3Harris currently fills them with explosives. Under a multiyear public-private partnership signed in September 2026, NAWCWD will manufacture a portion of the warheads alongside L3Harris.
NAWCWD also purchased materials with long delivery times in advance, as some components can take up to a year to arrive. The Tomahawk Technical Project Office has spent much of the past year updating warhead specifications and the approved supplier list.
The production effort initially involved retrieving an empty warhead case from a museum approximately a year ago. Technicians cleaned it, demonstrated the filling process and used testing, imaging and X-rays to verify the results.
New Personnel for Production Expansion
More than a dozen new employees are joining NAWCWD's Energetics Processing Branch. They will undergo approximately one year of training under experienced technicians before working independently, with training covering safety, quality control and production procedures.
Rear Adm. Eric Gardner, principal deputy for Portfolio Acquisition Executive Munitions, said increasing weapons production requires more than contracts and funding, highlighting the importance of personnel, infrastructure, materials and cooperation between the Navy and industry.
The expansion will give the Navy an additional source of Tomahawk warhead production and support Raytheon's plan to increase missile deliveries to the U.S. fleet.
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