Lockheed Martin Wins $83.2 Million Contract Modification for Additional Army Hypersonic Missile Rounds

Lockheed Martin Space has been awarded an $83.18 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification to procure additional hypersonic missile All Up Rounds (AURs) for the U.S. Army under the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) program.

The award, announced by the U.S. Department of Defense, modifies contract N00030-22-C-1025 and was issued by Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), the Navy organization responsible for managing the nation’s sea-based strategic deterrent and the Conventional Prompt Strike initiative. The procurement will expand inventory available to the Army as the Pentagon continues transitioning hypersonic weapons from developmental testing into operational deployment.

The modification was awarded on a sole-source basis under 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1), which permits contracting without full competition when only one responsible source can satisfy government requirements.

Deep Technical & Strategic Context Analysis

The contract centers on the procurement of additional All Up Rounds, the complete missile assemblies intended for operational use rather than developmental components. Within the CPS architecture, these rounds incorporate the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB), a maneuverable hypersonic vehicle designed to travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5 while remaining capable of changing trajectory during flight. This maneuverability significantly complicates interception compared with traditional ballistic missiles.

The Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike program and the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), also known as Dark Eagle, are closely linked through a common missile design and shared glide body technology. By leveraging a joint development approach, the Pentagon seeks to reduce costs, accelerate production, and create a common hypersonic strike ecosystem across multiple military services. The Army’s LRHW batteries and the Navy’s future ship and submarine based CPS launch systems are expected to provide commanders with the ability to engage high-value targets at long ranges with minimal warning time.

The use of a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract is notable because it reflects the technical complexity and ongoing maturation of hypersonic weapon production. Under this arrangement, the government reimburses allowable development and manufacturing costs while providing performance-based incentives tied to schedule, cost control, and technical outcomes. Such contract structures are common for advanced defense programs where production processes continue to evolve and technical risk remains significant.

Strategically, the award underscores the Pentagon’s determination to expand hypersonic inventories following years of intensive testing and capability demonstrations. U.S. military planners increasingly view hypersonic weapons as essential for penetrating sophisticated anti-access and area-denial networks developed by near-peer competitors, particularly in the Indo-Pacific theater. Additional missile procurement also indicates growing confidence in transitioning the capability toward sustained operational fielding.

Contract Breakdown & Details

Contract Value

• Award Amount: $83,180,528
• Contract Number: N00030-22-C-1025 (Modification P00093)
• Prime Contractor: Lockheed Martin Space
• Contract Type: Cost-Plus-Incentive-Fee (CPIF)
• Contracting Agency: Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), Washington, D.C.
• Acquisition Method: Sole-source procurement

Purpose of the Award

• Procurement of additional All Up Rounds (AURs)
• Supports U.S. Army operational requirements
• Executed under the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike program
• Expands inventory of deployable hypersonic missile systems

Funding Details

• Funding Source: Fiscal Year 2025 Missile Procurement, Army Reconciliation Munitions funds
• Amount Obligated at Award: $79,251,957
• Expiration Status: Funds will remain available and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year

Industrial Base Distribution

Work will be performed across multiple facilities supporting the CPS industrial supply chain:

Program Schedule

• Expected Completion Date: June 30, 2029
• Supports long-term production ramp-up and inventory growth for future Army hypersonic formations.

Why This Contract Matters

The latest modification highlights how the Pentagon is moving beyond experimental hypersonic testing and toward building meaningful stockpiles of operational weapons. While previous headlines surrounding the Conventional Prompt Strike and Dark Eagle programs largely focused on flight tests and developmental milestones, this award reflects a more practical phase centered on manufacturing capacity and inventory accumulation.

For Lockheed Martin, the contract further strengthens its position as a central industrial partner in America’s hypersonic weapons enterprise. For the U.S. military, additional missile procurement is a critical step toward creating a credible long-range conventional strike capability capable of rapidly engaging time-sensitive targets across contested regions.

As the United States seeks to match and eventually surpass advances made by China and Russia in hypersonic weapons deployment, production-focused awards such as this one may prove as strategically significant as the test launches that initially demonstrated the technology’s potential.