Navy Awards Billion-Dollar Contract to Lockheed Martin for Hypersonic Missiles

Javeline anti-tank missiles are displayed on the assembly line at a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Ala., on May 3, 2022. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)

Lockheed Martin received a contract potentially worth more than $2 billion from the U.S. Navy to integrate hypersonic strike capability into surface ships.

The contract involves integrating the conventional prompt strike (CPS) weapon system onto Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers (DDGs). CPS is a hypersonic boost-glide weapon system enabling long-range missile flight at speeds exceeding Mach 5, with the company claiming that it has “high survivability against enemy defenses,” according to a recent news release. The initial deal is worth $1.1 billion and could rise to more than $2 billion if all options of the contract are exercised.

“Lockheed Martin continues to advance hypersonic strike capability for the United States through this new contract,” said Steve Layne, vice president of hypersonic strike weapon systems at the company.

“Early design work is already underway. Our team looks forward to supporting the warfighter by providing more options to further protect America at sea.”

The missiles are reportedly highly maneuverable, capable of hitting targets thousands of kilometers away in less than 30 minutes.

The CPS missiles to be produced for Zumwalt destroyers will share a commonality in design components with hypersonic missile variants developed for use in the U.S. Army’s land-based mobile launchers and the U.S. Navy’s Virginia-class submarines.

Lockheed and Hypersonic Missiles

According to Lockheed’s contract, the company is expected to deliver weapon control, launcher systems, all-up rounds (i.e., completely assembled missiles), and platform integration support as part of the deal.

Lockheed will work with subcontractors like General Dynamics Mission Systems and Northrop Grumman to provide CPS surface-launched, sea-based hypersonic strike capability to the navy by the middle of this decade.

“Hypersonic vehicles or hypersonic missiles can travel faster than five times the speed of sound … The combination of the CPS capability, and the stealth and mobility of the Zumwalt-class destroyer, will provide the nation’s first sea-based hypersonic strike capability,” Lockheed said in the release.

The navy intends to purchase 240 CPS hypersonic missiles. according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). These missiles initially will be used as prototypes on the Zumwalt around 2025.

Lockheed is already partnering with the U.S. Air Force to test its hypersonic missiles. In July 2022, the air force confirmed that it had tested Lockheed’s air-launched rapid response weapon. The boost-glide vehicles can hit speeds of over Mach 5.

In October 2021, Lockheed was reported to have opened a new plant in Courtland, Alabama, aimed at manufacturing hypersonic missiles.

Lockheed–US Military Deals

In addition to hypersonic missiles, Lockheed has entered into multiple contracts with the U.S. military for delivering various assets.

In July last year, Lockheed and the Defense Department struck a deal to build around 375 F-35 fighter jets over a three-year period, which followed an earlier deal in 2019, when the Pentagon signed a three-year “block deal” to buy 478 F-35 jets.

In July 2022, Lockheed also handed over the first model of its new mobile rocket launcher to the U.S. Army. The multiple-launch rocket system, M270A2, is capable of being transported via large military transport aircraft like the C-5 and C-17.

A month earlier, in June 2022, the U.S. military signed a five-year contract worth $2.3 billion with Lockheed to build at least 120 H-60M Black Hawk helicopters. Options included an additional 135 aircraft for the army and other agencies, which pushed the potential value of the contract to $4.4 billion.