The Pentagon has announced a tender for the rapid production of cheap long-range missiles

The main requirement is low price and ease of production. The system needs to be demonstrated within a few months and put into mass production within 12-18 months.

As the statement itself states, “Future conflicts will require the joint force to provide long-range impact at an affordable cost, at scale, at a cost and pace that current stockpiles alone cannot support.” The requested systems would complement costly and limited munitions and allow commanders to engage a wider range of targets while preserving “premium” munitions for mission-critical missions.

Other requirements include a range of more than 600 nautical miles (1,100 kilometers), a payload of at least 35 pounds (preferably more than 100 pounds), a unit cost of less than $250,000 in mass production, and a total cost of engagement of less than $500,000. It also requires a production capacity of more than 100 systems per month or a robust plan to achieve it.

Secondary features include automatic target recognition, autonomous final guidance, alternate navigation in GPS-unavailable environments, and post-launch reprogramming capability.