The producer of the laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick missile, Raytheon Corp., is recycling unused missiles in the military’s inventory to help services acquire needed weapons at almost no cost.
Through a “replacement exchange in-kind” program overseen by the Government Services Administration, the company refurbishes and upgrades existing Mavericks and sells them to international customers. Part of the proceeds is placed in a credit pool, which the services can use to buy newer or different variants of missiles, says Chuck Pinney, Maverick program director.
The program so far has raised more than $81 million in exchange credits and company executives expect $30 to $70 million more credits from projected sales. The military services can apply those credits to weapons deemed urgently necessary — in this case, laser-guided Mavericks, which Raytheon completed delivery of 12 years ago.
Pinney says the exchange program will enable Raytheon to restart its laser Maverick product line to meet military commanders’ requests and bolster the services’ inventories.
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