Lockheed Martin is set to unveil a new “affordable” cruise missile on Monday as defense contractors need to use the US to thwart China's ambitions in the Pacific.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed us and other countries' thinking about weapons against a new strategy known as “affordable.”
The Common Multi-Mission Truck (CMMT) missile concept is a new product aimed at developing a family of low-cost modular weapons from the existing component catalogs of Lockheed and its partners.
CMMT missiles are designed to bridge the gap between low-cost standoff glide weapons and more expensive cruise missiles.
If the Pentagon decides to buy a new product, Callaway said Lockheed could make 2,500 a year when the production line is run.
The CMMT is a “subsonic, low-cost, long-range cruise missile,” Callaway said. However, low-cost turbine engines cannot compete with cruise missiles such as Lockheed's AGM-158 joint-to-surface standoff missiles.
Jassm is a 1,000 pound missile, weighing over $1.5 million per item.
The industrial scale of wars in Ukraine underscores the need for a deeper inventory of relatively inexpensive weapons.
The CMMT is designed to be modular and allows for a wide variety of variations to meet a variety of mission requirements.
These include longer-range versions that can be deployed from aircraft such as the C-17, Fighters, and Bombers, as well as shorter range versions.
Maritime strike variants are also envisioned, potentially being employed in flocks with a variety of seeker mechanisms for greater effects.
Callaway said Lockheed Martin aims to sell basic aviation vehicles for $150,000 per unit considered competitive.
