US Air Force Signs $694 Million Production Contract With Lockheed Martin for AGM-183A ARRW
The US Air Force signed a $694 million contract with Lockheed Martin to produce the AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic missile, which it had decided in 2023 not to buy. The contract was signed on 29 September 2026 and announced on 26 October; the quantity ordered and delivery schedule were not disclosed.
Contract Details
According to Air & Space Forces, the Air Force withheld the order quantity and delivery timing on operational-security grounds; quantities are treated as controlled unclassified information. In a 27 October release from Troy, Alabama, Lockheed Martin said a 47,000-square-foot expansion of Building P-20 will triple production space, and that it invested $67 million in the facility and equipment before government funding arrived.
Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said the missile delivers a critical, high-precision and sustained hypersonic capability. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink called the move a turning point in the advanced weapons roadmap, and Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said ARRW enhances the ability to hold targets at risk anywhere around the world.
What ARRW Is
ARRW is a multistage boost-glide weapon: after the booster falls away, the glide vehicle manoeuvres at Mach 5 or greater, at least 3,800 mph. Air & Space Forces does not state its range. It is too large for most fighters and will first be fielded on the B-52; it has reportedly been tested on the B-1. Lockheed Martin’s release cites speeds above Mach 5, sustained manoeuvrable flight and B-52 integration; these performance claims are the company’s own and not independently verified.
Programme History
Lockheed Martin received a design contract worth up to $480 million in 2018 and captive-carry tests followed in 2019. The first launch test failed in April 2021 and two more failures followed; the first successful test came in May 2022. Congress removed funding for 12 missiles from the fiscal 2022 plan in 2021, the Air Force zeroed out funding in 2023, and in March 2023 its top acquisition executive said the programme would end without purchases, with focus shifting to the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM).
Budget
The fiscal 2026 budget allocated $362 million to buy ARRW; $452 million was requested for fiscal 2027, but that budget is stalled in Congress and the Pentagon is operating under a continuing resolution at 2026 levels. Projections for fiscal 2028–2031 run from $556 million to $621 million a year.
Note
The ‘production restart’ wording is a press characterisation: sources describe the first production contract after the cancellation decision. The report rests on Air Force statements and Lockheed Martin’s 27 October press release.
