MOSCOW, October 14 (HS/RIA Novosti) - The US Air Force is requesting $525.2 million to launch a new program in fiscal year 2027 aimed at developing long-range, lower-cost cruise missiles that can be deployed in swarms from cargo aircraft to overwhelm hostile defenses and naval targets, according to a RIA Novosti correspondent’s analysis of the US Air Force's FY2027 budget reports.

The initiative, officially designated the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles, marks a new development effort for the US Air Force. According to the justification records, the standoff cruise missile is engineered to provide affordable volume at long range to overwhelm enemy defenses and deplete adversary defensive weapon inventories, operating as a complement to more complex and more expensive munitions.

Under the baseline requirements for the first phase, known as Increment 1, the weapon must achieve an operational flight range exceeding 500 nautical miles, or about 575 miles. The initial variant will feature networked autonomous capabilities with weapon-to-weapon communications, enabling missile swarms to coordinate in flight while targeting slow-moving maritime targets. The baseline capability will be deployed using palletized weapon racks released from C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft through the Rapid Dragon aerial deployment system.

The US Air Force plans to advance the initial variant through a production readiness review in FY2027 while beginning development on a second variant equipped with beyond-line-of-sight capability. Although the earliest iteration relies on palletized drops from cargo planes, the blueprint calls for a follow-on lugged variant designed for mounting racks on bombers and fighter aircraft, with provisions for future ground or surface-launched configurations. Inside the same program element, an Air Force Long Range Missile effort accounting for $250 million of the FY2027 base request will focus on modular, air-launched precision weapons to counter advanced air defenses and strike high-value, time-sensitive targets.

Under that $250 million effort, the service branch plans to engage four vendors to develop subsystem hardware and software, focusing on key technologies such as software-defined radios, seekers, and flight safety systems. Across the wider missile family, the acquisition strategy relies on common interface standards to hold down development expenses. To achieve high production volumes, the US Air Force plans to use distributed manufacturing across supplier networks, including industrial partners in allied coalition nations, alongside automation and 3D printing techniques.

Projected expenditure profiles show the program expanding rapidly over the next five years. Following the initial $525.2 million base discretionary request in FY2027, which is supplemented by $51 million in mandatory funding, research and development spending is slated to grow to $724.8 million in FY2028 and surpass $1 billion in FY2029. Planned spending remains elevated in subsequent years, with $798 million projected for FY2030 and $851.9 million in FY2031, as development and test activities scheduled through late 2031.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar