The Pentagon wants disruptive defense newcomers to build cheap missiles for the next war
The Pentagon is preparing to test low-cost missiles from a handful of “disruptive” defense tech companies in hopes of rapidly scaling the US military’s stockpile of affordable cruise and hypersonic missiles.
The Department of Defense announced agreements Wednesday with four companies — Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos, and Zone 5 Technologies — to launch the “Low-Cost Containerized Missiles” (LCCM) program aimed at producing large numbers of cheap cruise missiles.
Another defense startup, Castelion, will support the development and production of low-cost hypersonic weapons.
The effort, focused on “disruptive new entrants,” reflects a broader Pentagon push to expand the US military industrial base beyond the traditional defense giants — “prime” contractors like Lockheed Martin or RTX — amid growing concerns about America’s ability to produce sufficient munitions during a major conflict.
Those concerns are not theoretical. The US war against Iran has shown how quickly a serious fight can burn through high-end munitions and has raised concerns about how long US missile stockpiles could last in a prolonged conflict.
The Department of Defense is looking to “cheap mass” — inexpensive missiles built in large numbers — that could give the military more staying power when demand for precision strike capabilities outpaces traditional production. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated repeatedly the value of that cheap mass when other stocks run dry.
The Pentagon said in a release that it hopes to procure more than 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles over three years beginning in 2027, via firm-fixed-price production contracts “creating a pathway for rapid and repeatable production of high‑volume, lethal strike capabilities.”
The department plans to begin buying test missiles from all four LCCM companies in June 2026, ahead of military assessments.
Castelion, a defense startup developing the Blackbeard hypersonic missileis set to receive a multi-year procurement contract for at least 500 of its hypersonic weapons annually once those munitions pass testing.
Several participating firms, which were not named in the release, are expected to scale production without direct military investment, a model officials described as designed to reward speed, innovation, and private capital.
Officials framed the initiative as part of the Trump administration’s effort to build what they refer to as an “Arsenal of Freedom,” leveraging private-sector investment rather than relying solely on government-funded development.
The hunt for low-cost munitions extends beyond this initiative. The Pentagon’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencyis also searching for solutions to develop low-cost missiles that can be built in a mere days rather than months.
“We are moving beyond the traditional prime contractors to expand our industrial base, accelerating testing timelines, and sending a clear, long-term demand signal to innovative new entrants,” said Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, in Wednesday’s release on the new DoD effort.