“The Department of War has reached new framework agreements with a slate of disruptive new entrants and commercial innovators to aggressively expand the United States military’s strike capabilities,” the Pentagon said in a press release announcing a new push to scale lower-cost cruise and hypersonic munitions.
The procurement pledge: 10,000 LCCM rounds and expanded Blackbeard buys
The Pentagon’s new framework agreements promise to position the Department to “procure over 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles across these portfolios in just three years, starting in 2027.” Those LCCM (Low-Cost Containerized Missiles) production lots will include firm fixed material-unit costs for 2027 through 2029 and follow a fast-paced experimentation and assessment campaign that culminates in a Military Utility Assessment by sponsoring Service Components.
Separately, the Pentagon said it is advancing a parallel effort with Castelion for lower-cost hypersonic solutions. Once Castelion achieves testing and validation, the Department will award a two-year multi-year procurement contract for a minimum of 500 Blackbeard missiles annually, with options to extend for up to five years. The Department is also “actively seeking the necessary authorizations and appropriations to purchase over 12,000 Blackbeard missiles over five years.”
Contractors and the weapons they bring
The LCCM framework includes Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos, and Zone 5 as prime contributors. Anduril has announced its surface-launched Barracuda-500M — a design the company says can also be air-launched — and pledged to deliver a minimum of 1,000 rounds per year for three years.
Leidos plans to supply an LCCM design that builds on its AGM-190A Small Cruise Missile (SCM) work. Leidos said the LCCM will be “approximately twice the size of the AGM-190A,” offering greater fuel capacity and range, a modular airframe, and a common Weapon Open Systems Architecture (WOSA). The company plans to deliver 3,000 units under the new framework and described the design as initially ground-launched with potential maritime and air-launched variants.
CoAspire and Zone 5 bring existing designs from the Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) program: CoAspire’s Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile (RAACM) — including a longer-range RAACM-ER variant — and Zone 5’s Rusty Dagger. Zone 5, recently acquired by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, later issued a statement saying it is “proud to partner with the Department of War on the Low-Cost Containerized Missiles program” and endorsing rapid development and high-volume weapons production.
Castelion has been developing a ground-launched Blackbeard for the Army and recently received a separate Navy contract for an air-launched Blackbeard to arm F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
Containerized launchers, multi-domain employment, and logistics
The Pentagon has not yet explicitly defined what it means by “containerized” in this context, but the framework places clear emphasis on designs that could be fired from containerized launchers on land or loaded on ships. The reporting notes containerized systems offer “immense operational flexibility” and the ability to blend in with standard shipping containers, creating targeting challenges for opponents.
Common munitions that can be launched across domains — ground, maritime, or air — are highlighted as a logistical and cost advantage: shared supply chains, streamlined production, and economies of scale. The Navy’s Mk 70 is cited as an example of a containerized missile launcher already in U.S. military service.
Acquisition approach and institutional leads
The agreements are framed to “move at the speed of commercial industry,” with the terms set now to enable later firm-fixed-price production contracts. The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering will lead the LCCM experimentation and assessment campaign, with the Army Program Acquisition Executive Fires serving as the transition partner and acquisition lead for procurement.
To kickstart assessments, “the Department will procure test missiles from all four LCCM companies starting in June 2026.” The framework deals were developed in coordination with the United States Air Force Program Acquisition Executive Weapons, the Test Resource Management Center, and multiple components across the War Department, including the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment.
What this means for the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, Anduril/Leidos/CoAspire/Zone 5/Castelion, and the Army/Navy/Air Force
- Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering: will lead the experimentation and assessment campaign that determines military utility and sets the pathway to production and fielding.
- Anduril, Leidos, CoAspire, Zone 5, Castelion: face near-term delivery and scale requirements — test missile deliveries in June 2026 and multi-year production expectations starting in 2027 — while being asked to adopt firm fixed unit costs for lots through 2029.
- Army, Navy, Air Force: will be the transition partners and operators, with the Army and Navy already exploring ground- and ship-launched employment and the Air Force’s ERAM work feeding into wider Family of Affordable Mass Missiles planning.
The framework marks a clear shift in procurement strategy: the Pentagon is deliberately engaging “disruptive new entrants and commercial innovators” to expand capacity quickly and cheaply rather than relying solely on legacy prime contractors. The immediate milestones are concrete — test missiles beginning in June 2026, production pricing locked for 2027–2029, and a planned procurement surge beginning in 2027 — while follow-on authorizations could enable tens of thousands of additional missiles, including an effort to buy “over 12,000 Blackbeard missiles over five years.”
One practical question the record leaves open is how the Department will define and field “containerized” launch concepts across services even as it moves to buy mass munitions; that operational detail will matter as production and deployment timelines accelerate.
