Lockheed Martin awarded $756 million for long-range hypersonic weapon
Lockheed Martin will provide additional LRHW battery equipment, systems and software engineering support, and logistics solutions to the US Army under a US$756 million contract.
The LRHW weapon system has been designed to launch the common hypersonic All Up Round (
Fiscal 2023 missile procurement, army funds in the amount of $275.3 million were obligated at the time of the award.
Related Articles
US Army advances future long-range fires
How the US Army is getting ready to succeed in contested multidomain scenarios
China turns to US-made AI chips to boost hypersonic weapon performance
In September 2019, the US Army awarded contracts for system supply related to the development of a land-based hypersonic weapon capability. Dynetics Technical Solutions (DTS) was awarded $351.6 million to produce Common-Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) prototypes, while Lockheed Martin was awarded $347 million to lead the LRHW systems integration project.
The 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, was designated to operate the first battery of eight LRHW missiles. The battalion, also referred to as a Strategic Long-Range Fires battalion, is part of the Army’s 1st Multi Domain Task Force (MDTF), a unit in the Indo Pacific-oriented I Corps stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
According to a January 2023 Congressional Budget Office study, US Hypersonic Weapons and Alternatives, purchasing 300 Intermediate-Range Hypersonic Boost Glide Missiles (similar to the LRHW) was estimated to cost $41 million per missile in 2023 dollars.
A January 2023 Center for Strategic and International Studies report, The First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan, noted when discussing hypersonic weapons “their high costs limits inventories, so they lack the volume needed to counter the immense numbers of Chinese air and naval platforms”.
More from Land Warfare
-
Rheinmetall receives order from NATO country for mortar shells
Rheinmetall has received another order for mortar shells, following from Swiss and Spanish orders earlier this year, and an order in November last year of about 100,000 rounds of 120mm mortar ammunition for Ukraine.
-
GM Defense gears up for flag to drop on British Army infantry vehicle requirements
The UK’s Light Mobility Programme (LMP) has been delayed and altered but a timeline has now been outlined and companies have begun jockeying for position.
-
UK deploys Swedish Archer artillery ahead of future RCH-155 upgrade
Archer systems fitted with a Kongsberg remote weapon station and armed with a 12.7mm machine gun will be deployed by 14 Regiment, Royal Artillery.
-
Australia’s Advanced Navigation to provide navigation units for Redback IFVs
Advanced Navigation’s Boreas D70 navigation units have been designed to provide capability where satellite navigation is denied or unreliable.
-
Teledyne awarded $47 million for UGV support
The UGV support contract follows previous contracts awarded by the US government in 2017 and 2019.
-
The UK’s directed energy counter-unmanned weapon could see service in 2026
The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW), a joint effort by the UK’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), has been designed to detect, track and engage a range of threats across land, air and sea.