Industry days for the proposed Coalition Affordable Maritime Strike (CAMS) weapon system were held by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on 20-21 August. This event followed on from a 16 July Request For Information (RFI) intended to canvass industry views and identify relevant capabilities.
Being led by NAVAIR’s Precision Strike Weapons program office (PMA-201), the CAMS initiative is exploring options for a stand-off weapon, suitable for launch from both surface ships and aircraft, that could be produced at a price and volume to meet anticipated international demand. There is currently no US Navy requirement for the CAMS capability.
“Many coalition partners are reaching the point of diminishing returns with regard to the cost to modernize and sustain their mid-range maritime strike weapons capabilities,” NAVAIR’s RFI said.
“The US Navy intends to harness interest from the coalition partners and the national interest in expanding munitions production capacity that would successfully field an affordable munition on a relevant time scale for coalition use.”
NAVAIR
It added that PMA 201, acting on behalf of potential international partners, is interested in “the expedited development, prototyping, manufacturing, and employment of a widely affordable and exportable air and surface launched weapon with adequate stand-off ranges to provide desired lethality. By keeping unit costs low, the chosen CAMS solution will facilitate large production runs and optimal inventory levels our international partners urgently desire.”
Responses to the RFI is intended to inform the navy whether there are existing sources with the capability and experience to rapidly prototype, integrate, test and field a short to mid-range weapon system, capable of launching from aircraft and surface platforms. PMA 201 is targeting a unit cost target of US$1.5 million per round, and a minimum annual production rate of 250 all-up-rounds (AURs).
NAVAIR has mandated that CAMS should be developed using a model-based system-engineering environment to create “a broad exportability design that results in a modular weapon system capable of prosecuting a diverse set of surface and land target sets, as well as incorporating affordable upgrades to outpace adversaries without disrupting production throughput”. It also mandates compliance to Weapon Systems Explosives Safety Review requirements, and a minimum range of 140 nautical miles (260 km).
A number of desired requirements have been outlined by NAVAIR. These include a warhead of less than 500 lb (226.7 kg); a guidance system able to detects and target moving surface combatants, surface targets, and stationary land targets; a terminal targeting capability including one or more modalities (GPS, inertial navigation, infrared, and/or imagery); and a navigation system capable of operating in a GPS degraded or denied environment.
For air launch, NAVAIR’s stated aim is to achieve range from a maximum altitude of up to 40,000 ft and a speed up to Mach 0.8. The ship launch envelope identifies the need for CAMS to be launched from a moving/pitching deck using either a vertical launch system, or some type of deck-mounted launcher.
Compliance to the Department of Defense’s Weapon Open System Architecture (WOSA) is also sought. “[WOSA] and government-owned interfaces to permit rapid and affordable future upgrades and enable future multi-variant production should be prioritized,” NAVAIR said, adding: “Designing for ease of production in surface, sub-surface, and air-launch variants will expand partnership and cost-sharing opportunities. Internal carriage air-launch configurations likely maximize this potential, if acceptable range and payload trade-offs can be managed.”
NAVAIR is looking to be on contract for low-rate initial production no later than the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2027. Respondents to the RFI have been asked to provide performance and technical details for candidate weapon system concepts together with cost and schedule estimates for design, development, platform integration and production. Industry partners who cannot develop or integrate an AUR but have relevant technologies – such as seekers or propulsion systems – have also been encouraged to submit a response.
