Ukraine has received approval from the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) to purchase long-range weapons designated as Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM). The agreement covers the purchase of up to 3,350 missiles, including auxiliary equipment and additional services, worth $825 million.
According to the approval, Ukraine will acquire the weapons, but the costs will be covered by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and the U.S. via the Foreign Military Financing program. It should be noted that DSCA approvals indicate maximum costs, which could be lower in the final agreement. However, this is usually the result of smaller orders or less advanced configurations.
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It is important to understand that ERAM is the name of a project to create such weapons, but it actually refers to two different air-launched missiles designed for tactical aviation. The approval states that the main contractors will be Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire. Therefore, the estimated cost of a single ERAM missile is $246,200, which represents only an average figure.
It is very modest, given that the missiles are designed to fly 400 km. These are not particularly large missiles, as ERAM is limited to the 500-pound (227 kg) class. In other words, they are not expected to carry an extremely powerful warhead. Both missiles from Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire should have fairly similar characteristics in terms of warhead weight, range (approximately 400 km), speed (0.6 Mach), and accuracy.
There is slightly more information available about the CoAspire missile. Defense Express recently wrote that the CoAspire missile has a good chance of reaching Ukraine. It is about the RAACM, which is printed on a 3D printer and is actively used.
Regarding the missile from Zone 5 Technologies, the company has not demonstrated it under the ERAM program. However, it is also involved in a very similar competitive program for the U.S. Air Force — the Enterprise Test Vehicle (ETV).
The offer for ETV at Zone 5 Technologies is called Rusty Dagger. However, testing this missile at the same site and from the same aircraft as the RAACM may suggest that Rusty Dagger is also part of the ERAM program.
At the same time, Rusty Dagger could offer better performance, reportedly reaching 500 miles (900 km), but possibly without a warhead, as the ETV concept includes a multifunctional carrier.
It is also worth noting that Rusty Dagger uses not only satellite navigation, but also terrain-referenced systems such as TERCOM or DSMAC, or visual navigation. It was also designed with stealth technologies, including the use of radio-wave transparent materials in the fuselage, its shape, and a concealed engine nozzle.
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