As part of its search for low-cost weapons, the U.S. Air Force has announced a competition for concepts of an air-defense missile expected to cost under $500,000 and be produced at a rate of at least 1,000 units per year.
Recently, the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center recently announced a contract as part of the Counter-Air Missile Program (CAMP), which is still in its early stages.
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According to TWZ, the CAMP program will draw on existing U.S. Air Force projects, particularly technologies developed for other low-cost missile programs such as the Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM).
It should be noted that this is a project being implemented in the U.S. specifically for Ukraine. It includes two cruise missiles from Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire, with an average cost of $250,000 per missile.
Although the price of "no less than $500,000 per unit" raises questions about how inexpensive the missile can truly be, it would still cost less than current systems such as the AIM-9X Sidewinder ($500,000) and AIM-120 AMRAAM ($1 million). However, the final cost of the CAMP missile is expected to drop as production scales up, with annual output projected between 1,000 and 3,500 units.
At the same time, the tactical and technical characteristics of the CAMP air-defense missile remain unknown. The only information released so far is limited to general statements emphasizing modularity and a combination of "outstanding capabilities with affordable price and technological feasibility." These characteristics will also be important when comparing costs with other missile systems.
It is known that the CAMP is to be launched from both ground and air platforms. The main question remains what capabilities the missile will be able to provide given its relatively low cost.
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