The U.S. Air Force has spoken favorably about development of a so-called new class of low-cost aviation munitions, specifically new procurement approaches, accelerated testing, as well as development pace of such weapons. Thanks to these, introduction of new models into service has been reduced from several years to months.
These cruise missiles demonstrate a new procurement pace, emphasized U.S. Air Force armament acquisition chief Brigadier General Robert P. Lyons III, quoted by Air and Space Forces Magazine. In the case of the new cheap weapons class, four months pass from concept development to contract signing, four to seven months to creating working prototypes.
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Several different programs are cited as examples of such weapons, primarily ERAM-class missiles. Under this ERAM abbreviation hide two different cruise missilesRusty Dagger and RAACM from companies Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire respectively, which were created primarily for Ukraine. Both these cruise missiles underwent testing with warheads at the beginning of this year.
These missiles are cheap compared to classic cruise missiles, have relatively long strike range, but correspondingly not very large mass (a requirement of 227 kg, or 500 pounds, was set).
At the same time, ERAM cruise missiles provide the ability for 12 F-16 fighters to immediately launch 144 missiles. For example, RAACM missile manufacturer stated their model can be carried by any aircraft with JDAM guided bomb capability.
The U.S. Air Force also mentions two variants of the FAMM (Family of Affordable Mass Munition) class. Overall, let's recall that in June last year, plans were announced to buy over 3,000 units of truly cheap weapons, spending only several hundred thousand dollars on one missile. These are models such as Barracuda from Anduril, CMMT (Common Multi-Mission Truck) from Lockheed Martin, or Black Arrow from Leidos.
As of today, both programs are developing quite rapidly and will occupy quite an important place in the U.S. Department of War procurement strategy. Among other things, they will provide commanders greater variability in weapons use, not to mention the ability to replenish ammunition stocks faster.
Defense Express previously reported on whether the Kh-101 cruise missile can be launched from a ground launcher and what difficulties may arise with this.
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