US Defense Department to Acquire 10,000 Low-Cost Cruise Missiles: What This Means for Military Readiness

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With concerns that a protracted war with Iran is depleting U.S. missile stocks, the Pentagon is accelerating purchases of lower-cost cruise missiles.

On March 13, the Wall Street Journal reported the Pentagon plans to buy about 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles over the next three years to replenish inventories. Each missile would cost on the order of several hundred thousand dollars.

The shift toward cheaper missiles reflects a Pentagon assessment that it will be difficult to rebuild inventories of expensive cruise missiles, such as the Tomahawk, to pre-conflict levels.

The U.S. has historically procured fewer than 100 Tomahawks per year because each one costs more than $2 million.

To speed production, the Pentagon has awarded contracts to four companies: Core Spire, John5, Raydos, and Anduril Industries.

A Defense Department official told the WSJ that the new missiles will help increase and diversify DoD stockpiles and will serve as a complement to higher-cost systems that rely on missiles like the Tomahawk.

Core Spire CEO Doug DeNeni said, “We can modify and develop existing missiles to meet the Pentagon’s program goals within months.”

Anduril said it plans to build the infrastructure needed to expand missile production to several thousand units per year by the end of this year.

The Trump administration estimates it has spent $29 billion on the war since launching operations in late February. Repeated reports that U.S. missile inventories, including Tomahawks, have fallen sharply have made replenishing missile stockpiles a top Pentagon priority.