Air Force planners want ideas on building the service’s next counter-air missile at a cost of $500,000 per unit, although the service already has cheaper munitions.
As part of the service’s Counter-Air Missile Program, or CAMP, the Air Force wants to develop a ground-launched missile that will set the groundwork for a “low-cost air-to-air missile,” according to a Nov. 7 request for white papers posted on SAM.gov.
“The highest priority of this effort is the development and demonstration of an affordable, open system, modular, and highly producible ground-launched capability,” the notice from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center reads, adding that work would start on ground-launch versions as a way to test the technology before pivoting to “future affordable air-to-air missile capabilities.”
The first phase of CAMP would focus on developing and demonstrating a ground-launched prototype in two years. Phase two would turn the missile into a program of record, and future phases would seek to produce an air-to-air variant. Industry ideas are due by Dec. 2.
The notice lacks technical details of the missile’s design and function but says the government will “trade exquisite capabilities for affordability and producibility in support of delivering quantities of 1,000-3,500 per year in full rate production.”
But it’s unclear how the new missile would be used with existing air-to-air and counter-drone munitions in the Air Force inventory.
The proposed cost is less than the service’s $1 million AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-To-Air Missile and comparable to the existing $472,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder, according to figures from the War Zone. But it is more expensive than the service’s APKWS II jet-fired anti-drone rockets, whose most costly components run between $15,000 and $20,000.
Air Force spokespeople did not immediately respond to questions about the proposed benefits of the program in relation to the price tag.
The call for industry ideas follows the passage of the reconciliation bill this summer, which allocated $250 million to develop, procure, and integrate Air Force low-cost counter-air capabilities. The notice was posted the same day as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech to defense companies urging them to invest more and move faster on acquisition programs.
“This effort follows the strategic direction of the [Defense Department] to innovate warfighter advantage, accelerate production, and deliver at scale,” the notice reads.
The notice also mentioned the munition will be a part of the Air Force’s “new weapon class of Enterprise Test Vehicle”—the low-cost cruise missiles currently being pursued by the service in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit. Anduril and Zone 5 Technologies were both selected to move to the second phase of the ETV program and are progressing towards a live-fire test this summer, DIU announced in September.
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