Hegseth's Pentagon hands massive no-bid deal to firm that admitted defrauding military

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon has awarded weapons maker Raytheon a no-bid contract extension worth up to $394 million — despite its admission to defrauding the military, PunchUp reported Monday.

The two-year radar maintenance extension came a month after the Navy determined that Raytheon could remain eligible for government contracts despite the fraud, according to the report.

“These schemes to defraud caused the DOD to pay Raytheon over $111 million more than Raytheon should have been paid on the contracts,” the Justice Department said in 2024.

Raytheon admitted to inflating the price of an Air Force radar maintenance deal by roughly $11.1 million and committing a separate $100.1 million fraud involving an Army Patriot missile contract. It entered a deferred prosecution agreement requiring three years of government oversight.

But the contracts kept coming, PunchUp reported.

Thompson reported Monday that another increase to the same radar support contract’s ceiling — $900 million — came just nine days after the Justice Department announced that agreement in 2024.

“This took the deal’s ceiling to $2.6 billion at the time,” according to PunchUp. Of the additional $394 million available, $112.3 million was already obligated.

The Missile Defense Agency defended its decision.

“Because the contractor was not suspended or debarred, and the acquisition fulfilled a critical mission requirement for the agency, MDA executed the extension,” a spokesperson told the outlet.

The Pentagon and Raytheon did not immediately respond to PunchUp’s requests for comment.