WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has selected Zone 5 Technologies to develop a maritime strike variant of the AGM-188 Rusty Dagger cruise missile under a $65 million agreement. The contract is part of the Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike (CHAOS) program, which aims to rapidly field affordable, modular and scalable precision-strike weapons for the United States and its international allies.
CHAOS is focused on weapons capable of engaging land targets and maneuvering maritime targets, while providing adaptable and exportable surface-launched strike capabilities.
“Zone 5 is proud to partner with the Navy on CHAOS and deliver industry-best scalable maritime strike capabilities to the U.S. and our allies,” said Thomas Akers, CEO of Zone 5 Technologies. He said the program will provide coalition partners with a credible and affordable maritime strike capability.
Capt. Sarah Abbott, program manager for the Navy's Precision Strike Weapons program office PMX-201, said advanced area-denial systems are creating challenges for coalition and allied forces seeking modern and affordable anti-ship capabilities. “CHAOS closes this capability gap,” Abbott said.
The $65 million Other Transaction Agreement was facilitated by CMG Networks on behalf of the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium. Under the agreement, Zone 5 will design, build, test and deliver the CHAOS variant of the AGM-188 Rusty Dagger.
Zone 5 will work with PAE Munitions and the Navy's PMX-201 office. The award is the second contract under the CHAOS initiative, following an earlier award to CoAspire for its Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile-Extended Range (RAACM-ER).
The AGM-188A Rusty Dagger was initially developed for the U.S. Air Force's Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) program. It is a roughly 500-pound-class, subsonic cruise missile. The provided program information states that the weapon has been deployed in Ukrainian service, where it has struck targets with high precision while maintaining high survival rates in Russian airspace. Zone 5 plans to use this experience as it develops the new maritime variant for U.S. military services and international partners.
Founded in 2011, Zone 5 Technologies is an aerospace engineering and production company owned by Kongsberg. The company develops modular, open-architecture counter-UAS interceptors and affordable ground- and air-launched effects. It employs more than 500 engineers, technicians and support personnel across the United States, with major manufacturing operations in California, Texas and Ohio.
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