Lockheed’s Mako Missile: The F-22 and F-35 Get a Hypersonic Upgrade
Lockheed Martin has unveiled new details about the Mako missile, a groundbreaking air-launched hypersonic weapon designed to be deployed from the internal weapons bays of the F-35 and F-22 Raptor.
MAKING HYPERSONICS AFFORDABLE?
One of the biggest challenges facing the laundry list of hypersonic weapons in active development for the U.S. military is cost. In 2021, the Defense Department projected that some of America’s hypersonic missiles may cost as much as $106 million per weapon – more than the purchase price of a brand-new F-35 – leading many to argue that these missiles simply aren’t economically viable. As a result, significant efforts to reduce the overall cost of these weapon systems have been underway for some time, with more recent assessments out of the Congressional Budget Office now projecting the per-unit cost of another Lockheed Martin-sourced hypersonic missile, the AGM-183 ARRW, at roughly $15-$18 million a piece.
And Mako continues this pursuit of cost savings by leaning into new additive manufacturing – or 3D printing – technologies. The Mako missile’s guidance section and fins are all produced through this additive manufacturing process, which Lockheed claims is ten times faster than traditional production methods while coming in at just 1/10 the cost.
Lockheed Martin has not disclosed the price point for this weapon, but it would certainly be predicated on projected order size, which would be impossible to assume at this point, with no contract yet in place for any branch to purchase this new weapon.
About the Author: Alex Hollings
Alex Hollings is a writer, dad, and Marine veteran.
This article was first published by Sandboxx News.
