Hughes Resumes Delivery of TOW Missiles to Army
Hughes Aircraft Co. said Thursday that it has delivered 750 TOW missiles to the Army in recent weeks, the first such deliveries since last August, when the company’s Tucson missile factory stopped all production after the military found deficiencies in its quality control.
The shipment means that Hughes has resumed deliveries of two of the four major ordnance systems produced at the Tucson plant that the military cited last summer as having workmanship defects. Delivery on the Air Force’s Maverick missile was resumed last month.
But the Air Force and Army are still withholding some progress payments from Hughes despite the deliveries.
The recently delivered missiles were taken out of inventory and reworked to the current higher quality standards, Hughes spokesman Hal Watkins said.
“Shipments of the TOW anti-tank missile are scheduled to be up to peak production of 3,000 per month by midyear,” said C. Blaine Shull, Hughes’ Tucson activities manager.
The missiles currently sell to the Army for about $12,000 each, which includes motors, fuses and warheads that Hughes does not produce, a spokesman said.
In its latest report to Congress, the Pentagon estimated that it will buy 141,337 TOWs for $2.6 billion, including future inflation, spares and support--for a per-missile price of about $18,300.
