The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $534 million contract modification on June 27 for testing as well as systems engineering and development for the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic weapon.
DoD’s announcement said this award also incorporates an optional line item that, if exercised, would increase the not-to-exceed value to $570 million total.
Work under this undefinitized modification is set to last through June 19, 2025.
$115 million in fiscal year 2024 Navy research and development funds were obligated upon the award, with none set to expire at the end of this fiscal year.
This award follows a 2023 $1.2 to 2.2 billion award to Lockheed Martin for CPS on Zumwalt-class destroyers (Defense Daily, Feb. 17, 2023)
At the time, Lockheed Martin said under that contract it is set to provide the launcher systems, weapons control, platform integration support and All Up Rounds (AUR) for CPS on the three destroyers. It said the capability was on track to be provided to sailors by the mid-2020s.
CPS uses a common AUR with the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), but is meant to be launched from surface ships and submarines versus mobile launchers. Army testing is meant to aid in both the Army and Navy programs while the Navy is the program manager for the weapons.
More recently, earlier in June a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said the Army will not field its first operational LRHW battery with live rounds until FY 2025, rather than the goal of the end of FY ‘23. The delays are due to test and integration delays in 2023 (Defense Daily, June 18).
Similarly, the GAO said the Navy’s CPS plans to restart flight testing in 2024 after an independent technical review of the missile’s design is complete. The Navy has tentatively scheduled additional flight tests using a CPS launcher following a series of launcher-related tests to reduce risk.