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U.S. budget documents released on April 21 reveal that the U.S. Navy plans to buy 4,500 air-launched hypersonic missiles for Boeing F/A-18E/Fs over the next five years.
The Navy has budgeted $1.6 billion to procure 4,157 missiles under the Multi-mission Affordable Capacity Effector (MACE) program from fiscal 2028 to 2031. Another 353 missiles would be acquired for $156 million in fiscal 2027, if Congress passes the Navy’s request for budget reconciliation.
The MACE missiles are expected to be delivered at an average gross weapon system cost of $384,000, according to the justification book for weapons procurement in the fiscal 2027 budget request sent to Congress.
The Navy documents do not identify the contractors but say the missiles will be selected through a competition managed by the Small Business Innovation Research program.
Known options for such an award include an air-launched variant of Castelion’s Blackbeard ballistic missile. A ground-launched version is a candidate for the U.S. Army’s ground-launched Precision Strike Missile Increment 4 program.
The Office of Naval Research awarded Castelion a contract worth $3 million in 2024 to study the design of an “air-launched anti-surface weapon,” according to government spending records. The study included a 212-in. limit for the length and 2,750 lb. for the weight of the missile.
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