Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded a $900 million contract to develop the nation’s next-generation air-launched nuclear cruise missile.

Frequent competitor Lockheed Martin was awarded a similar, 54-month contract to develop design concepts and technologies for the new Long Range Standoff weapon, the Air Force said Wednesday.

When those contracts are completed, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida will select a single contractor to further develop and produce the new weapon.

The contract awards were a blow to defense and aerospace giant Boeing, which has produced the current AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile since the 1980s.

Raytheon will perform work on the cruise-missile contract in Tucson, according to a Pentagon contract notice. The company already makes the Navy’s Tomahawk cruise missile and a variety of major missile systems in Tucson.

A spokesman for Raytheon declined to comment on the contract announcement.

The Air Force says the contract awards keep the program on track to replace the aging AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile with modernized weapon capabilities designed for its nuclear bomber fleet, including the future B-21 strategic stealth bomber.