INDO-PACIFIC — The Pentagon plans to field 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles within three years. The U.S. Air Force is developing the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles to support this initiative.

Defense leaders and industry officials warn that current production and procurement mechanisms face challenges in meeting the accelerated timeline. The goal requires production rates higher than historical outputs for systems such as the Tomahawk, which historically produced 66 units per year, and the Patriot, which produced between 150 and 600 units per year.

Chris Haynes, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Missile Subsystems at General Dynamics Ordnance & Tactical Systems, addressed the industry's readiness. "Short answer, no," Haynes said when asked if the defense industry is ready to produce advanced fires at conflict scale. "I would characterize our industry as being optimized today for certainty, not necessarily speed," Haynes said.

To address these constraints, the Pentagon’s Low-Cost Containerized Munitions program includes framework agreements with four firms: Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos, and Zone 5. These agreements aim to bypass traditional procurement timelines and accelerate production. Anduril Industries has committed to producing 1,000 Barracuda-500M missiles by 2027 under these Pentagon framework agreements, with a focus on containerized, rapid-deployment systems.

Rep. Patrick Harrigan, who represents North Carolina, noted legislative and procedural hurdles. "We don’t have a contracting procurement mechanism that keeps up with that pace that’s required for today’s battles," Harrigan said.

Military leaders emphasized the strategic necessity of shifting from personnel-intensive operations to system-based capabilities. Col. Matt Ritchie, who serves in the Operations Division of Marine Corps Headquarters Plans, Policies, and Operations, noted the geographic scale of potential theaters. Iraq is roughly one-eighth the size of the South China Sea. "I want to send a system instead of sending a Marine, because that preserves combat power, preserves that human capital for more important missions," Ritchie said.

Army officials stressed the importance of reliability and integration in new weapon systems. Lt. Col. William Taylor, an Army Product Manager for Precision Strike Reconnaissance Systems, stated that ground commanders rely on the broader unit's assessment of a weapon's performance. "The ground commander is not going to hear from you that your weapon system was successful or failed," Taylor said.

"They’re going to hear from the other 680 soldiers.. if they buy into this weapon system, that’s where trust starts."

"I don't believe in a panacea as an army," Taylor said. "It’s about the fusion of a bunch of unique technologies that come together."

The Pentagon's plan to field 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles within three years represents a shift in procurement strategy and force structure. Achieving this volume requires production rates that are ten times higher than those of established programs like the Tomahawk and Patriot missiles. The initiative aims to counter threats in the Indo-Pacific by leveraging new procurement frameworks with private firms such as Anduril Industries, CoAspire, Leidos, and Zone 5.

Success depends on overcoming identified barriers in contracting speed and industrial capacity. Officials from the Army, Marine Corps, and House of Representatives, along with industry leaders, indicate that current mechanisms are not optimized for the required pace. The integration of these systems is intended to preserve human capital for other missions while providing scalable lethal options in large geographic areas.