The Army is looking for a defense company to produce a new munition that costs less than $150,000 apiece that can be used to shoot down small drones.
On Tuesday, the service published a request for information on a government contracting website for the next-generation counter-drone missile, which said the “principal objectives for this effort are to develop, produce, and sustain a missile capability at extended ranges with rapid launch and reduced time-to-target over existing effectors.”
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The cost should be less than $150,000 per missile, and the Army wants to procure them “in a quantity buy of at least 5,000 missiles.”
The Army wants the new missile to be capable of defeating Group 2 and 3 drones, which is a reference to the government’s 1-5 drone classification scale that factors in maximum weight, maximum operating altitude, and speed. Group 2 drones weigh between 21 and 55 pounds and can operate anywhere up to roughly 3,500 feet above ground level, while Group 3 drones weigh from 55 to 1,320 pounds and can operate up to 18,000 feet above ground level.
The next-generation missile should be able to defeat Group 2 and 3 drones from more than 10 miles away at an altitude of almost 4 miles, though the objective capability is to be able to use it at 15-plus miles away and up to 5 miles in the air. The Army also wants the missile to be capable of launching within five seconds from operator initiation.
Army officials want the system to be ready for Army Test and Evaluation Command by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027.
The rapid proliferation and evolution of drones and the affordability of munitions have been major areas of focus for the Trump administration and the Pentagon. On drones, the Pentagon is trying to mass-produce drones of various sizes with different mission sets, including for offensive and defensive missions, and field them as quickly as possible.
Simultaneously, during the Iran war, the U.S. military has been forced to use very expensive air defense systems to defeat incoming missiles and drones, the latter of which are several times cheaper than the expensive missile interceptors used to stop the projectiles. The U.S. military is trying to rapidly procure cheaper alternatives for drone defense, such as this next-generation missile.
The exact depth of each critical munition stockpile in the U.S. arsenal is highly classified, though there have been several indications, including comments from President Donald Trump, of some shortages.
Last week, Trump said the military has plenty of air defense munitions but also that former President Joe Biden “gave a lot of it to Ukraine, and so we’re building that up.”
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“We’re in very good shape, but for some of the more sophisticated stuff, we’d certainly like to have more,” he added.
The Pentagon has announced several deals in recent months with various contractors for different components that make up the broader air defense strategy. On Monday, the Pentagon announced two framework agreements with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to expand production of critical missile interceptor components, both of which are designed to allow the companies to increase their manufacturing capacities in the coming years.
