The US Navy has selected Zone 5 Technologies as the second partner for its Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike program.
The US Navy has selected Zone 5 Technologies as the second industry partner for its Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike (CHAOS) program, an initiative to develop affordable, scalable precision-strike weapons for the US and its allies that can engage land and maneuvering maritime targets.
Under a $65-million Other Transaction Agreement with CMG Networks, acting on behalf of the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium, Zone 5 will design, build, test, and deliver a CHAOS variant of its AGM-188 Rusty Dagger cruise missile.
The company will conduct the work with PAE Munitions and the US Navy’s Precision Strike Weapons program office, PMX-201.
Earlier, CoAspire was awarded a $70-million contract under CHAOS to develop a ground-launched variant of its Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile-Extended Range.
“As adversaries increasingly deploy advanced area denial systems, coalition and allied forces face significant challenges in maintaining credible, modern, and affordable anti-ship capabilities,” PMX-201 program manager Captain Sarah Abbott said.
“CHAOS closes this capability gap by delivering a highly capable, adaptable, and exportable maritime strike solution that overcomes present-day obsolescence and supply chain challenges.”
Rusty Dagger
Rusty Dagger is a low-cost, 500-pound (227-kilogram) class, high-subsonic, long-range stand-off cruise missile designed for mass production and precision strike.
Developed under the US Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition program, it offers flexible launch options and has been provided to Ukraine. Reports based on recovered missile debris indicate that the weapon may have been used in Ukrainian strikes against targets in Russia.
The weapon reportedly has a range of around 300 nautical miles (555 kilometers/345 miles) in low-altitude flight and up to 500 nautical miles (926 kilometers/575 miles) at medium altitude.
Designed for fighter aircraft launch, it has also demonstrated pylon- and palletized-launch concepts and can reportedly operate in GPS-degraded environments while resisting electronic warfare.
CHAOS Program
CHAOS is expected to support multiple launch configurations and enable partner nations to participate in future development, production, and integration.
The program uses the Modular Open Systems Approach and Weapons Open Systems Architecture to simplify software and hardware upgrades while facilitating local integration and joint assembly.
The first planned variant is reportedly an expeditionary, ground-launched system, with production targeted for 2028 before expanding the capability to naval launch platforms. Air-launched variants could follow based on future user requirements.
“These awards are the next milestone in developing an affordable maritime strike capability for security assistance partners, while expanding the defense industrial base through competition and accelerating a new entrant into the Navy’s precision-strike portfolio,” Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Munitions Van Hendrey, who leads the new naval acquisition organization, said.
“We saw significant demand from our international partners and worked with them to understand and incorporate their requirements from the outset. By building in exportability on day one, we are positioned to deliver an affordable warfighting capability to our partners at speed.”
