RAPIDLY ADAPTABLE AFFORDABLE CRUISE MISSILE (RAACM™)
1/2 Scale RAACM™ on Display at the Sea Air Space Trade Show in 2024
RAACM™
CoAspire is a recent prime contractor for the Air Force for RAACM™, a Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile.
RAACM is exportable and available for sale for air, land and sea applications, dependent on determinations by the US Government as Foreign Military Sale or Direct Commercial Sale Opportunity.
To obtain pricing for RAACM™, please contact us at info@coaspire.com
CoAspire is working with a large aerospace and defense company as CoAspire’s subcontractor along with many other large and small suppliers in the US and overseas, to meet challenges highlighted in this Air Force Assocation (AFA) Journal article:
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/to-surge-weapons-production-air-force-may-accept-less-efficiency/ According to the article:
“Making munitions modular and with an open-systems architecture can potentially speed up design and production.”
Analysts have predicted a war with China over Taiwan could require hitting upwards of 50,000 targets, and a high tempo of airstrikes could empty munitions bins in less than two weeks.”
CoAspire’s RAACM™ activities were highlighted in a NAVAIR SBIR Spotlight story located here:
CoAspire-LLC-Spotlight-2024.pdf (navystp.com)
CoAspire is competing for multiple future opportunities for RAACM™, to include air launched, surface ship launched, and ground launched.
The artist’s concept above is a ship launched RAACM™. CoAspire has mature designs for launching affordable mass cruise missiles from ships or from land (vehicles) to provide a precision strike capability hundreds of miles away, affordably.
RAACM™ received in May 2024 a $6M competitive add. This is in the House version of the NDAA that is not yet conferenced with the Senate and not yet signed by the President. Here is a snapshot of that table:
And most recently, RAACM™ received $6M in the FY25 House Defense Appropriations Act that was on the same line as above. This will provide $6m in appropriated funds for the Air Force, if it survives the appropriations process with the Senate and passage and signature by the President.
In this current Fiscal Year, RAACM™ received an additional $5M in funding in an Air Force Weapons line in the FY24 NDAA that survived in conference with the House and Senate and was signed by the President:
Additionally, RAACM™ was highlighted as Directive Report Language by the HASC in the FY24 NDAA Report. Here is the language:
Development of the Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile
The committee continues to support the expansion of the cruise missile production industrial base. The committee is encouraged by the Air Force’s use of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program to contract with a small business to design an innovative Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile (RAACM).
The RAACM will be a Weapon Open System Architecture design, Government Reference Architecture compliant family of weapon systems developed in parallel with a digital model. This use of digital engineering technologies and fasttrack to production concepts like determinant manufacturing allows for the rapid development and production of cost-effective, air-launched cruise missiles.
This speed to field a family of affordable weapons capacity is required to deter peer and near-peer threats now, by providing aircrews a capable weapon in the quantities needed to overwhelm an enemy’s defenses. The committee notes that RAACM does not have an identified future funding path in fiscal year 2024, or in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). Without a defined plan, it is challenging to quickly execute this vision of providing affordable capacity in time to deter peer threats. For small businesses investing in the people, parts, and test equipment needed to develop, test, fly and ultimately produce at rate a weapon like RAACM, instability in future funding is a risk that makes development inefficient, slow, and more expensive.
Therefore, the committee directs the Secretary of the Air Force to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services not later than December 1, 2023, that explains in detail the Air Force’s RAACM development and acquisition strategy to include: (1) threshold and objective performance characteristics provided in the initial System Performance Specification delivered by the contractor; (2) draft schedule for future production and how that will increase the draft schedule for future production and how that will increase the missile industrial base; (3) streamlined test and evaluation plan that takes into account commercial-off-the-shelf and previously developed SBIR technology; (4) proposed funding profile across the FYDP; and, (5) issues for consideration and planning related to transitioning the program from prototype to production activities.
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RAACM™ 2023-2024 US Air Force contract details:
