The Pentagon announced framework agreements for new multiyear deals with three companies to mass-produce more affordable, less exquisite air-to-ground missiles for the Air Force, part of a larger strategy to bring cheaper firepower to a future fight.
The deals, announced July 15, seek to stabilize the department’s demand signal to industry and provide a steady stream of missile production.
The Pentagon expects to receive a total of 8,000 missiles annually once production ramps up for its three selections—Anduril’s Barracuda; CoAspire’s Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile, or RAACM; and Zone 5 Technologies’ AGM-188 Rusty Dagger.
“The Arsenal of Freedom of the 21st Century requires doing business differently,” Michael P. Duffey, Undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, said in a statement. “Today’s announcement showcases the Acquisition Transformation Strategy in action, expanding the defense industrial base, fielding capabilities faster, and attracting private investment to fund innovation and increase manufacturing output.”
Congress authorized the Defense Department to award five-year production contracts for FAMM as part of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. In its release, the department said it is seeking seven-year authorization in the fiscal 2027 bill. The July 15 agreements are for seven-year deals, subject to authorization, to “be awarded upon the successful validation and competitive selection of the munitions.”
The Air Force is currently focusing efforts on FAMM-Lugged, for fighter aircraft, and FAMM-Palletized, for airlift aircraft, with ranges of 250 to 500 miles. But efforts are underway to extend the range of the affordable munitions in another effort known as FAMM-Beyond Adversary Reach.
Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5, along with Leidos, were also previously selected for an Army program known as the Low-Cost Containerized Missile program for ground-launched missiles that the Army can use to knock down aerial threats. The missiles being delivered are similar in most ways to those for the FAMM program.
“Barracuda-500 is specifically designed to expand the United States’ stand-off strike capability,” according to an Anduril release. “By augmenting existing critical munitions inventories with a more affordable, producible, and flexible option, Anduril is enhancing America’s arsenal of munitions, ensuring that we have the capability required to deter our adversaries.”
“The inclusion of CoAspire in this groundbreaking FAMM program [multiyear authority] underscores CoAspire’s ability to revolutionize our country’s strike capabilities, offering a long-range solution that can be deployed across multiple platforms,” said Doug Denneny, CoAspire CEO and founder.
“Modern conflict has made one thing clear—the ability to rapidly scale production without sacrificing capability is critically important for air superiority,” said Thomas Akers, CEO and CTO for Zone 5. “Rusty Dagger is built to deliver affordable, adaptable, highly survivable, incredibly lethal and rapidly deployable weapons that give the U.S. and our allies the ability to outpace and overwhelm evolving threats without being constrained by cost or production limitations.”
Anduril is based in California. CoAspire is located in Virginia. Zone 5’s U.S. office is in California, but Kongsberg, a Norwegian company, acquired Zone 5 in June.
In its 2027 budget request, USAF is targeting $355 million for procurement of 1,000 FAMM missiles, according to budget documents. Budget projections show plans to acquire 28,000 FAMM missiles over the next five years, with a price tag of $12.6 billion:
- 2028: $1.85 billion for 5,300 missiles
- 2029: $2.3 billion for 5,920 missiles
- 2030: $4.03 billion for 7,700 missiles
- 2031: $4.13 billion for 7,990 missiles
While FAMM-P and FAMM-L are the focus for now, the Air Force wants to keep pushing what the technology can do while keeping it relatively affordable.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center posted an April 20 notice seeking information from industry on an affordable cruise missile that can fly more than 1,200 miles and hit slow-moving ships, dubbed FAMM-Beyond Adversary Reach.
According to the notice, the center wants a weapon that can fly at least 537 miles per hour and receive midcourse navigation updates. And the service wants companies that can deliver 1,000 to 2,000 missiles annually.
Air & Space Forces Magazine Pentagon Editor Chris Gordon contributed to this article.