Navy Air-Launched Hypersonic Anti-Ship Cruise Missile Makes Big Move Forward
Story by Joseph Trevithick • Wednesday
The U.S. Navy has awarded separate contracts to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to design and build competing prototypes to meet its requirement for an air-launched, air-breathing hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile. The service says this weapon is key to addressing increasingly advanced naval threats in contested environments in future major conflicts, such as a potential one against China in the Pacific, and that it must be in service by 2029.
The Navy's Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced the contract awards late on Tuesday. NAVAIR says the deals, which were formally inked on March 27, together have a total combined value of approximately $116 million, but it's unclear how much each company received.
"The initial contracts to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin will provide technical maturation and development through preliminary design review of the propulsion system required for a carrier suitable hypersonic weapon system," according to a NAVAIR press release. "The contract period of performance for each award will end in December 2024 with each company's preliminary design review working towards a prototype flight test."
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