The Pentagon wants more bang for its buck, and is looking to five “disruptive new entrants” to get it.
Under a framework agreement announced by the Pentagon yesterday, four companies—Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos, and Zone 5—will deliver over 10,000 cruise missiles over three years under the Low-Cost Containerized Missiles (LCCM) program, while Castelion will deliver a “minimum of 500 Blackbeard missiles annually” under the Low-Cost Hypersonic Missiles program once it completes testing.
If you’ve been keeping track of all the videos of explosions on Secretary Hegseth’s social media feed lately, beefing up the missile inventory on a budget is probably a solid plan.
Cruise control: The five “disruptive new entrants” tapped for the LCCM program (not exactly how we’d describe Leidos) will collectively deliver over 10,000 cruise missiles over the next three years, starting with purchases of test missiles beginning next month and ultimately firm-fixed price production contracts from 2027 to 2029.
Here’s what each of them is bringing to the table:
- Leidos will deliver an “initial” 3,000 LCCMs based on its AGM-190A Small Cruise Missile (aka Black Arrow), but twice the size.
- Anduril will deliver its surface-launched Barracuda-500M (SLB-500M), starting with a minimum of 1,000 all-up rounds per year starting in the first half of 2027, along with the “associated containerized launch system.”
- Zone 5 hasn’t disclosed what they’re delivering, but they already produce the “Rusty Dagger” cruise missile for the Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) program.
- CoAspire will ship its GHOST missile, a ground-launched variant of its Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile-Extended Range (RAACM-ER), which it built for ERAM.
“By establishing a framework for large-scale procurement of SLB-500M across several years, the Department has energized the non-traditional industrial base, capitalizing on Anduril’s complementary investments to dramatically increase production capacity for critical munitions,” Anduril’s VP for Advanced Effects Pat Morris said in a statement.
Hyped up: The Pentagon also inked a parallel deal with Castelion for their Blackbeard low-cost hypersonic missile, which the California-based startup is developing for both the Army (ground-launched) and the Navy (air-launched from the F/A-18 Super Hornet).
After Blackbeard wraps up “testing and validation, the Department will award a two-year multi-year procurement contract for a minimum of 500 Blackbeard missiles annually, with options to extend for up to five years,” the Pentagon’s announcement said. “To further encourage Castelion’s self-funded facility expansion, the Department is actively seeking the necessary authorizations and appropriations to purchase over 12,000 Blackbeard missiles over five years.”
How’s that for a demand signal?