The U.S. Navy has awarded Zone 5 Technologies a contract to build its combat-proven Rusty Dagger low-cost cruise missile for the U.S. Navy’s new CHAOS cruise missile program.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Zone 5 Technologies, a Kongsberg company, a contract to build its combat-proven low-cost cruise missile, Rusty Dagger, for the service’s Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike (CHAOS) program, according to details provided to Naval News. The award, announced August 21, is the second contract signed under the relatively new CHAOS effort which seeks to deliver modular, surface-launched cruise missiles to U.S. and allied partners.
“As adversaries increasingly deploy advanced area denial systems, coalition and allied forces face significant challenges in maintaining credible, modern, and affordable anti-ship capabilities,” Capt. Sarah Abbott, PMX-201 program manager, said in the U.S. Navy’s news release on the award. “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.”
The first award was issued to CoAspire, a Zone 5 competitor delivering its surface-launched Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile-Extended Range (RAACM-ER). The latest award to Zone 5 represents a much bigger step in fielding combat-proven, capable cruise missiles for the U.S. and its allies — particularly in the Pacific.
Unlike RAACM-ER, Zone 5’s Rusty Dagger is a weapon already being battle-tested in highly contested Russian airspace, giving Zone 5 a distinct, measurable advantage over competitors as its real-world effects continue to materialize — even with the relatively small batches being delivered.
The missile is already a standout in the Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition program, according to sources familiar with the matter, owing to the weapon’s standout performance in Ukrainian service where Rusty Dagger missiles have hit targets with extreme precision while also maintaining high survival rates — even against advanced surface-to-air missile threats.
Thanks to that experience, Rusty Dagger is significantly farther ahead in testing and development than competitors CoAspire and Anduril which offer RAACM-ER and Barracuda-M respectively.
The Navy’s CHAOS program is one of many new efforts that stem from the Pentagon’s push towards low-cost, high-capacity strike weapons. Weapon production is increasing across the board with Air Force and Navy low-cost programs expected to deliver thousands of new cruise missiles in coming years. High-end programs like Lockheed Martin’s JASSM and LRASM family are also hiking delivery rates and most recently increased the number of expected deliveries from a 2024 contract, Naval News previously reported. Zone 5’s offering looks to expand that pool of availability even further.
“Zone 5 is incredibly excited to partner with the [U.S. Navy] and deliver immediate capability to both the US warfighter and our allies. The [Department of the Navy’s] commitment to mission performance at the pace of relevance are perfectly matched with Zone 5’s and proven track record,” Thomas Akers, Zone 5 CEO said in a release provided to Naval News.
Rusty Dagger is already in production for Ukraine’s Air Force, and Naval News previously covered the missile’s work in enabling long-range strike campaigns on key Russian military targets that have degraded the military’s production of key weapons and technology. That ongoing campaign makes the weapon, designated AGM-188A in the United States, a production-ready, immediate asset for the U.S. Navy as it looks to rapidly stock up on weapons after high expenditures in Iran.
“Multi-domain deep strike requires partnership across the [Department of War] and PMA-201 is one of those perfect partners to help us accelerate into that maritime strike environment. That trusted partnership, bolstered by Zone 5’s proven performance as the only affordable mass cruise missile in production, will ensure that we meet and exceed the USN’s expectations while continuing to outpace our competition,” Zone 5’s Chief Strategy Officer Tom Kanewske said in the release.
“The drive towards lower cost, yet still highly sophisticated and capable, missiles is a trend which will have real impact on naval and military strategy,” H. I. Sutton, a naval analyst and contributor to Naval News, previously said in reference to the U.S. military’s push towards low-cost, high-capacity weapons. “Even lower cost drones and drone-missiles have their place at the volume end of the strike package. But superior weapons like [Rusty Dagger] can lead the way, opening gaps and hitting the best defended targets.”
The U.S. Navy’s Precision Strike Weapons program office (PMX-201) also emphasized how the CHAOS program is also being leveraged to support coalition missile capabilities — a critical element of power projection especially as the U.S. recovers from its large missile expenditures in the Middle East.
“CHAOS is designed to rapidly build and deliver low-cost, scalable precision strike weapons to allies and partners,” the service said in its press release on the award. “Through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Cases, PMX-201 is actively inviting partner nations to participate in defining future CHAOS requirements and to explore opportunities.”
