Lockheed To Develop Ground-launched Hypersonic Missile for DARPA

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lockheed Martin a $31.9 million contract to develop a ground-launched, mobile, hypersonic missile system.

The contract will allow the company to begin Operational Fires (OpFires) Phase 3 Weapon System Integration program for the boost-to-glide weapon system. OpFires seeks to develop innovative propulsion solutions that will enable a mobile, ground-launched tactical weapons delivery system capable of carrying a variety of payloads to a variety of ranges.

The award for Phase 3 of the OpFires program will take the design from the initial requirements development through the Critical Design Review (CDR) in late 2021. Integrated flight testing is scheduled to begin in 2022, with component and subsystem tests expected in 2021.