The U.S. Navy is soliciting early feedback from the industry regarding a new medium-range maritime strike weapon system that can operate across different warfare domains and be utilized by various nations. The Navy aims to commence production by fiscal year 2027.
In a document issued on July 16 by the Naval Air Systems Command, it was noted that many coalition partners are facing challenges in upgrading and maintaining their mid-range maritime strike capabilities due to rising costs. The Navy intends to leverage interest from coalition partners to expand munitions production capacity, ultimately fielding an affordable weapon for coalition use in a timely manner.
NAVAIR is driving the prototyping, development, and swift production of the „Coalition Affordable Maritime Strike Weapon System” (CAMS), designed to be widely affordable and exportable for both ship and aircraft deployment.
CAMS, as outlined by NAVAIR, is envisioned to have a minimum striking range of 140 nautical miles, operating at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet for aerial launches and utilizing a vertical launch system for ship-based launches. The design emphasis is on facilitating production across different launch platforms to enable partnership opportunities and cost-sharing. The goal is to achieve a production cost of around $1.5 million per unit, with an industry capacity target of at least 250 rounds annually. If the project moves forward as planned, a low-rate initial production contract is anticipated to be awarded in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.
