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14h ago

Pentagon Awards $1.36 Billion to Advance Navy’s Sea-Based Hypersonic Strike

The new funding signals a shift from testing to production for shipboard use.

The U.S. Navy performed the first end-to-end flight test of the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missile at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. in 2025, using the cold gas launch approach it plans to use off of submarines and surface ships. (Photo: U.S. Navy)
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Rendered image of hypersonic weapon.

Overview

  • The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin Space a $1.356 billion Conventional Prompt Strike contract modification on March 31 to fund engineering, integration, long-lead materials, testing, and tooling for missile and launcher production through 2032.
  • USS Zumwalt has been reconfigured for the role, with its big guns removed and four 87-inch launch tubes installed that can hold up to 12 hypersonic missiles.
  • Navy officials plan live-fire testing on Zumwalt in 2027–2028 after land-based test problems pushed back earlier timelines for the program.
  • The award builds on a $1 billion June 2025 modification and includes FY2026 Navy and Army funds, reflecting a shared missile design also used by the Army’s Dark Eagle, which the services recently flight-tested from Cape Canaveral.
  • Most work will occur in Denver with additional effort in Sunnyvale and Magna, supporting U.S. industry as the Navy prepares to equip the other two Zumwalt-class destroyers and later Virginia-class submarines.