Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new unnamed weapon in a short video, describing it as modular, lethal and affordable.
Lockheed Martin has released on Mar. 1, 2025, a short video on its social media, unveiling a new unnamed weapon. No details have been disclosed, with the company only describing it as “modular, lethal and affordable.”
The dimensions of the weapon are difficult to judge, as Lockheed Martin put the weapon on a dark background without objects which could be used as a reference for the dimensions. The weapon in question could be either a 14 ft long low-cost cruise missile in the same class of the AGM-158 JASSM, manufactured by the same company, a 12 ft long cruise weapon for internal carry or even a 6 ft weapon to be carried on racks internally.
The next generation of missiles is already here…👀 pic.twitter.com/j3fCeZNMIt
— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) March 1, 2025
What we can see is a weapon whose shape is consistent with a cruise missile, with a non-airbreathing engine, folding wings, four fins on the tail and some other interesting features.
Starting from the nose, there is what could be the now “common” imaging infrared (IIR) sensor found on many standoff weapons to assist targeting. On the top of the weapon there is what appears to be a solar panel, something of an intriguing feature which is not usually found in these applications.
Near the tail, a hexagon shaped sensor can be seen, with possibly another one in a symmetrical position on the other side. The function of these sensors in unknown, but their resemblance to the F-35’s Distributed Aperture System’s (DAS) sensors might indicate a possible relation to navigation guidance for GPS degraded environments.
Candidate 1: Extended Range Attack Munition
A first candidate for the identity of this weapon could be the Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM), or an equivalent weapon. The U.S. Air Force has been working on this low-cost precision-guided air-launched stand-off munition for Ukraine, although the weapon shown in the video could be an equivalent for the U.S. military.
The contracting notice released by the Air Force in 2024 calls for a 500-pound-class munition, with a range of at least 250 miles and a top speed of at least Mach 0.6. The warhead’s dimension has not been specified, although it has been requested to be a blast/fragmentation type with some degree of penetrating capability.
The weapon’s navigation system is required to be capable of operating in a GPS degraded environment,’ so the addition of other sensors to assist the GPS would be plausible. Also, a terminal accuracy with a circular error probability (CEP) of 10 m has been requested in ‘both in non-EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) and high EMI environments’, something that would we achieved with the IIR sensor.
The companies working on the project have not been disclosed, although Lockheed Martin could be a candidate, given its experience and portfolio of long-range weapons.
Candidate 2: Project Carrera
A second candidate would be a program which Lockheed Martin launched few years back, dubbed Project Carrera. The company invested $100 million in distributed teaming technologies to be used on collaborative unmanned assets and weapons for Joint All-Domain Operations.
“With distributed teaming, pilots can extend the reach of networked sensors, increase the survivability of piloted platforms, and enable data collection, fusion and distribution that informs their decisions and achieves tactical execution,” says Lockheed Martin. “Project Carrera brings to bear nearly a decade of Lockheed Martin expertise in distributed architecture efforts and will leverage investments and advanced technologies from across the enterprise and customer communities to fully explore what optimal 5th Generation distributed teams can look like.”
If that’s the case, the DAS-like sensors could be used to allow the unmanned assets and weapons to team up in swarms. Obviously, those sensors could also be something completely different. Interestingly enough, a similar feature is also present in the video about Project Carrera released by the company.
Relation to Mako
The description “modular, lethal and affordable” recalls the design philosophy behind the Mako hypersonic missile unveiled by Lockheed Martin last year. In fact, Mako was described as modular and mass-producible, aided by additive manufacturing (commonly known as 3D-printing).
The company adopted additive manufacturing processes for the production of several parts, significantly cutting down costs. The production with additive manufacturing “meets all engineering requirements at 1/10th cost and it’s 10 times faster and cheaper than conventional subtractive methods,” mentioned the company when presenting Mako.
As for the modularity, Mako has been described as based on an Open System Architecture (OSA) to allow for quick upgrades, or changing entire sections like guidance or seekers, depending on the mission requirements. Lockheed Martin says that these elements can be upgraded with “no proprietary entanglements,” means components from different manufacturers can be integrated at the user’s discretion.
