WASHINGTON – Lockheed Martin has been selected to design and prototype anew air-launched hypersonic cruise missile for the US Air Force.

The IDIQ (indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity) contract, dubbedHypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, has no specified timeline, but isvalued at as much as $928 million, according to Defense Newslink>.

Lockheed is tasked with the “design, development, engineering, systemsintegration, test, logistics planning, and aircraft integration supportof all the elements of a hypersonic, conventional, air-launched stand-offweapon,” according to Defense Department statement.

Standoff missiles are long-range weapons designed to be firedfrom distances sufficient to enable their carriers to avoid enemy defensivefire. Flying at speeds of Mach 5 or above, hypersonic weapons are anext-generation weapons technology designed to defeat existing andprospective air and missile defense systems.

HCSW is one of several USAF hypersonic prototyping efforts, another beingthe Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon, a $258 million project for twoother prototyping experiments. The service is also working with the DefenseAdvanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on two experimental hypersonicprojects: the Tactical Boost Glide program and the Hypersonic Air-breathingWeapon Concept.

The new funding outlay comes amid fresh concernslink>thisweek from US Strategic Command about Russian and Chinese hypersoniccapabilities, including the operation and testing of such weapons. Earlier,STRATCOM chief Gen. John Hyten admittedlink>therewas nothing in the US arsenal capable of stopping Russia’s new missiletechnology.