{"id":20019377,"date":"2026-09-04T09:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T07:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/afrl-affordable-hypersonic-cruise-missile-hamwc-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:59:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T07:59:36","slug":"afrl-affordable-hypersonic-cruise-missile-hamwc-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/afrl-affordable-hypersonic-cruise-missile-hamwc-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"L&#039;AFRL desidera un missile da crociera ipersonico economico da poter acquistare in grandi quantit\u00e0."},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p>Hypersonic weapons have a problem that has nothing to do with physics. They work. They are also so expensive that nobody can afford to fire very many of them, which in a serious war is the same thing as not having them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>On 1 September the Air Force Research Laboratory quietly posted a one-page notice on Sam.gov asking industry for something different: a hypersonic cruise missile that reaches out 500 nautical miles, carries whatever you bolt into it, and \u2014 crucially \u2014 costs little enough to buy in bulk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is a short document. It may turn out to be one of the more consequential things the Air Force published this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 24px;margin:26px 0;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px\"><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Programme<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">Hypersonic Affordable Mass Weapon Concepts (HAMWC)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Issuing body<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">Air Force Research Laboratory<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Notice posted<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">1 September 2026, on Sam.gov<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Range sought<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">Up to 500 nautical miles (about 925 km)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Payload requirement<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">None specified \u2014 kinetic, ISR or electronic warfare<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Manufacturing hint<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">Modular open systems architecture and advanced manufacturing<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Process<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">Round one: industry white papers. Round two: full technical and cost proposals<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>Existing programmes<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">HACM (RTX scramjet) and ARRW (Lockheed Martin boost-glide)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:5px 12px 5px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;width:38%\"><strong>FY2027 hypersonic request<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:5px 0;color:#222\">About $1.96 billion for HACM and ARRW combined<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The affordability wall<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Everything about hypersonic flight is expensive. Materials have to survive temperatures that would soften ordinary aerospace alloys. Scramjets only work above roughly Mach 4, so something else has to get the weapon there first. Test ranges are scarce and each shot is costly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The result is a class of weapon that is spectacular in a briefing and hard to justify in a magazine. The Army\u2019s Dark Eagle is the standing example.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Affordability can be a barrier to fielding hypersonic weapons at scale \u2014 the Army\u2019s Dark Eagle ground-launched boost-glide weapon that costs $40 million or more for a single warhead is a good example of this. So, an air-launched weapon that costs low single-digit millions of dollars each would increase the potential to acquire them at scale.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Mark Gunzinger<\/strong> &mdash; retired U.S. Air Force colonel and Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=870486682  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/b-52h-419th-flight-test-squadron-edwards-hypersonic-test.jpg\" alt=\"B-52H of the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base during hypersonic weapon testing\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A B-52H of the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base during hypersonic weapon flight testing. U.S. Air Force photo via DVIDS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A missile with no fixed purpose<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The most interesting line in the AFRL notice is that the project has \u201cno specific payload requirement.\u201d Everything the Air Force has fielded or attempted so far in this space was designed around hitting something hard, very fast. This one is deliberately left open.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>That could mean a warhead. It could equally mean a sensor package that flies through defended airspace faster than anything can react to it, or a jamming payload delivered at Mach 5 into the middle of an integrated air defence network. Gunzinger sees the strike case as the obvious near-term one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Depending on its seekers and warhead variants, a 500-nautical mile hypersonic weapon could be used against ground fixed and relocatable targets, moving maritime targets, and possibly even high-value airborne targets like Airborne Early Warning &amp; Control aircraft.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Mark Gunzinger<\/strong> &mdash; Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, speaking to Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>That last category matters more than it sounds. Chinese KJ-500 and KJ-600 early-warning aircraft are the nodes that stitch together the People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2019s long-range kill chains. A weapon that can reach them from 500 nautical miles away changes the arithmetic of a Pacific fight considerably \u2014 as does one that can hit a moving Type 055 cruiser.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Print it<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The notice encourages offerors to consider modular open systems architectures \u201ctogether with aggressive application of digital engineering advanced manufacturing techniques.\u201d In defence procurement English, that is an invitation to 3D-print as much of the thing as possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>If the missile is small enough, Gunzinger argues, it could go on a wide range of aircraft \u2014 the F-15EX, the B-21, the B-2, the F-47, potentially even the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-35-lightning-ii\/\">F-35<\/a>. He notes that a sixth-generation stealth aircraft does not strictly need 500 nautical miles of standoff, but the extra reach would let it stay out of the worst threat areas and cover more ground per sortie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/83Gxpdw6U5Y\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A primer on how hypersonic missiles and scramjet propulsion actually work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Third time asking<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>This is not AFRL\u2019s first attempt to get this off the ground. The lab posted a notice in January for a technology demonstration competition titled \u201cRapid Maturation and Demonstration of Hypersonic Weapon Concepts,\u201d then on 16 March released a call for \u201cHypersonic Affordable Mass Weapon Concepts.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Following internal reviews and refined program requirements for the Hypersonic Affordable Mass Weapon Concepts effort, we updated key project parameters to better align with mission priorities. Because these adjustments represented a material change to the original scope, a resolicitation was required.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Molly Lachance<\/strong> &mdash; Air Force Research Laboratory spokesperson, in an email to Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The process runs in two rounds: white papers first, then full technical and cost proposals. AFRL expects to post amendments within 30 days of the September notice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>None of this replaces HACM or ARRW, and it is not meant to. It sits alongside the Family of Affordable Mass Munitions effort, which aims to field 28,000 low-cost cruise missiles over five years with Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5 Technologies. The Air Force has decided it needs both exquisite weapons and a great many cheap ones. What it is now asking is whether a hypersonic weapon can be the second kind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is the Air Force Research Laboratory\u2019s new hypersonic missile project?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 1 September 2026 AFRL posted a one-page notice on Sam.gov seeking industry concepts for a low-cost, air-launched hypersonic cruise missile with a range of up to 500 nautical miles and no specific payload requirement. It sits under the Pioneering Aerospace Capabilities, Engineering &amp; Research programme and is known as Hypersonic Affordable Mass Weapon Concepts, or HAMWC.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What does \u201cpayload-agnostic\u201d mean for a hypersonic missile?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">It means the weapon is not designed around one warhead. AFRL says the project has no specific payload requirement, so the same airframe could in principle carry a kinetic warhead, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance package, or electronic warfare equipment. That is a departure from HACM, which was built around a kinetic warhead from the start.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How is this different from HACM and ARRW?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">HACM is a scramjet-powered, air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile being built by RTX with a Northrop Grumman engine, intended for fighters and bombers. ARRW is a Lockheed Martin boost-glide weapon carried by bombers. Both are expensive programmes of record. The new AFRL effort is a research call aimed at driving the unit cost of a hypersonic weapon down far enough to buy them in quantity.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Will the new missile be 3D printed?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">AFRL has not mandated it, but the notice encourages \u201cmodular open systems architectures, together with aggressive application of digital engineering advanced manufacturing techniques.\u201d In practice that is an invitation to use additive manufacturing to cut cost and lead time.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How much do hypersonic weapons cost today?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A great deal. Mitchell Institute analyst Mark Gunzinger cites the U.S. Army\u2019s ground-launched Dark Eagle boost-glide weapon at $40 million or more per round as an example of the affordability barrier. He argues an air-launched weapon costing low single-digit millions each would make buying them at scale realistic.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How much is the US Air Force spending on hypersonics?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Air Force requested about $1.96 billion for HACM and ARRW in its fiscal 2027 budget. Roughly $1.2 billion of that is for HACM \u2014 $404 million to buy the first operational lot and $806 million for research and development \u2014 with around $748 million for ARRW.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the Air Force Research Laboratory\u2019s new hypersonic missile project?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On 1 September 2026 AFRL posted a one-page notice on Sam.gov seeking industry concepts for a low-cost, air-launched hypersonic cruise missile with a range of up to 500 nautical miles and no specific payload requirement. It sits under the Pioneering Aerospace Capabilities, Engineering & Research programme and is known as Hypersonic Affordable Mass Weapon Concepts, or HAMWC.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What does \u201cpayload-agnostic\u201d mean for a hypersonic missile?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"It means the weapon is not designed around one warhead. AFRL says the project has no specific payload requirement, so the same airframe could in principle carry a kinetic warhead, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance package, or electronic warfare equipment. That is a departure from HACM, which was built around a kinetic warhead from the start.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How is this different from HACM and ARRW?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"HACM is a scramjet-powered, air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile being built by RTX with a Northrop Grumman engine, intended for fighters and bombers. ARRW is a Lockheed Martin boost-glide weapon carried by bombers. Both are expensive programmes of record. The new AFRL effort is a research call aimed at driving the unit cost of a hypersonic weapon down far enough to buy them in quantity.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Will the new missile be 3D printed?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"AFRL has not mandated it, but the notice encourages \u201cmodular open systems architectures, together with aggressive application of digital engineering advanced manufacturing techniques.\u201d In practice that is an invitation to use additive manufacturing to cut cost and lead time.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How much do hypersonic weapons cost today?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A great deal. Mitchell Institute analyst Mark Gunzinger cites the U.S. Army\u2019s ground-launched Dark Eagle boost-glide weapon at $40 million or more per round as an example of the affordability barrier. He argues an air-launched weapon costing low single-digit millions each would make buying them at scale realistic.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How much is the US Air Force spending on hypersonics?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Air Force requested about $1.96 billion for HACM and ARRW in its fiscal 2027 budget. Roughly $1.2 billion of that is for HACM \u2014 $404 million to buy the first operational lot and $806 million for research and development \u2014 with around $748 million for ARRW.\"}}]}<\/script><p><em>Sources: Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine, Air Force Research Laboratory notice on Sam.gov (1 September 2026), Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, U.S. Air Force FY2027 budget documents, U.S. Air Force \/ DVIDS.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/silent-anvil-navy-air-launched-glide-torpedo-saa-lt\/\">Silent Anvil: The Navy\u2019s Torpedo That Glides to the Target<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/japan-asm-3-air-to-air-missile-fy2027-budget\/\">Japan\u2019s Ship-Killer Grows Fangs<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Il Laboratorio di Ricerca dell&#039;Aeronautica Militare statunitense sta chiedendo all&#039;industria un missile da crociera ipersonico a basso costo, compatibile con qualsiasi tipo di carico utile e con una gittata di 500 miglia nautiche, e lascia intendere chiaramente che la stampa 3D sia la soluzione ideale.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":20019167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20019377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AFRL Wants a Cheap Hypersonic Cruise Missile | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta 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