The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) a contract worth up to $2 billion related to hypersonic weapon systems, the defense firm said on Friday, amid a global uptick in demand for arms and ammunition. The company will deliver and install Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missiles to the Navy and Army that can be integrated with the Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyers.
Under the contract’s terms, Lockheed Martin will aim to install the hypersonic missiles by around 2025.
Lockheed Martin is the integrator for the hypersonic weapon program — which the Navy calls Conventional Prompt Strike and the Army calls Long Range Hypersonic Weapon. The two services leverage a common round but put them in different launchers.
According to a company statement, the contract calls for Lockheed Martin to provide the Navy with launcher systems, weapon control, all-up rounds, and integration work to link the missiles with the Zumwalt destroyers.
The contract also provides for additional AURs plus canisters for the U.S. Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) testing, training, and tactical employment.
“Hypersonic vehicles or hypersonic missiles can travel faster than five times the speed of sound and are highly maneuverable,” Lockheed Martin explained in a press statement. “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.”
CPS is a hypersonic boost-glide weapon system that enables long-range missile flight at speeds greater than Mach 5, with high survivability against enemy defenses. CPS shares a common AUR with the Army LRHW and can be launched from multiple platforms including surface ships, submarines, and land-based mobile launchers. Lockheed Martin is the prime systems integrator for the CPS and LRHW weapon systems.
“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 Lockheed Martin. “Early design work is already underway. Our team looks forward to supporting the warfighter by providing more options to further protect America at sea.”