WASHINGTON, — The U.S. Navy has awarded five agreements worth a combined $743.6 million for prototype development of the Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N). Signed on September 23 and announced on October 6, the agreements cover missile development, flight systems integration and launch canisters, with work scheduled through December 31, 2027.
Leidos subsidiary Dynetics, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman will lead missile development and systems integration, while Northrop Grumman Mission Systems and Pacific Engineering will develop launch canisters.
The awards were issued through Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements under the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) initiative, managed by the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL). The agreements support prototyping rather than production missile purchases.
Earlier Contracts and Development Work
The latest awards build on prototype agreements issued in August 2025 to Leidos, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Florida Turbine Technologies for initial missile and technology development. Separate launcher and canister agreements worth approximately $26.24 million followed in September 2025.
Other related contracts include a $194.1 million award to General Dynamics Mission Systems in September 2026 for fire-control subsystem engineering through September 2028; a $47.4 million award to JRC Integrated Systems for integration, modelling, simulation and flight-test engineering extending into 2030; and a $94.6 million contract to BAE Systems for engineering, technical and programme support through September 2028.
Return of a Sea-Launched Nuclear Capability
The SLCM-N programme aims to restore a capability previously provided by the nuclear-armed Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM-N). The United States began deploying TLAM-N missiles aboard surface ships and submarines in the mid-1980s. They were removed from surface ships in the early 1990s, and the remaining inventory was fully retired in 2013.
The Trump administration's 2018 Nuclear Posture Review revived the concept to strengthen regional deterrence and provide the United States and its allies with an additional response option. The Biden administration later proposed cancelling the programme, but Congress maintained funding and directed the Navy to continue development.
Funding, Deadlines and Planned Platforms
According to the Congressional Research Service, fiscal year 2025 budget legislation allocated $2 billion to accelerate missile development and $400 million for the associated nuclear warhead. Fiscal year 2026 legislation authorised further funding for the missile and warhead.
Fiscal year 2024 defence legislation set September 30, 2034, as the deadline for initial operational capability. Fiscal year 2026 legislation requires a limited number of weapons to be available for limited operational deployment by September 2032. These are statutory deadlines, not guarantees that development will be completed on schedule.
The programme achieved Milestone A in December 2025 and is in the technology maturation and risk reduction phase. Planned milestones include the start of system development around September 2028 and a low-rate production decision in September 2031, followed by further testing and production decisions.
The missile is intended primarily for Virginia-class attack submarines equipped with the Virginia Payload Module and Virginia Payload Tubes. Potential integration with future surface ships has also been referenced in programme planning. The SLCM-N is expected to use a variant of the W80 nuclear warhead family.
The programme remains in development and prototyping, with the latest agreements supporting work on the missile, its flight systems and launch equipment ahead of planned testing, production and deployment milestones.
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