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The U.S. Air Force is prioritizing digital designs of new munitions.
The U.S. Air Force is targeting development of a new class of air-launched precision munition for Ukraine.
The service first released a request for information (RFI) in January for the Extended-Range Attack Munition (ERAM), aiming for a low-cost, quickly developed, air-launched munition that can travel 250 nm (288 mi.). Sixteen undisclosed companies have expressed interest.
A follow-up RFI, posted July 10 by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Armament Directorate’s Long-Range Systems Division, directly states ERAM is for Kyiv’s fight against Russia.
“This munition is pivotal for accelerating Ukraine’s capability to meet warfighter needs efficiently and provides an affordable mass weapon to be produced at scale,” the solicitation states.
The latest RFI says ERAM will be procured in phases, looking to prototype and adapt a commercial, autonomous, modular, open-architecture vehicle “that can deliver affordable long-range effects.”
Minimum requirements, as outlined in January, state ERAM will be a 500-lb.-class munition outfitted with a warhead capable of blast and fragmentation on open targets, including armored targets. ERAM needs a minimum speed of Mach 0.6 and a range greater than 250 nm, though it does not specify whether the munition needs to be powered. It needs to navigate without GPS and land at least half of the munitions within a 10-m (33-ft.) radius of the aim point.
The Air Force’s ERAM development is one of multiple Pentagon efforts to develop new, low-cost, air-launched munitions. The Navy earlier this year also released requirements for the Multi-Mission Affordable Capacity Effector, a 75-lb.-payload, relatively cheap munition that is small enough for an F-35C to carry four in its weapons bay.
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