Dynetics received $428.3 million to develop C-HGB versatile hypersonic warheads for the US Army's hypersonic LRHW weapons
The US Army has awarded a contract to Dynetics Technical Solutions for the development of C-HGB hypersonic blocks. The agreement was announced on the official website of the US Department of Defence.
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The contract amount was $428, million. The work is to be completed by 23 July 2027 and will be performed at the Dynetics plant in the state of Alabama. The 24 July 2023 deal was a modification to a contract worth more than $350 million that was signed in 2019.
The C-HGB or Common-Hypersonic Glide Body is a development of Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia National Laboratories). The C-HGB bionic glider was successfully tested in flight trials in 2011 and 2017.
In 2019, the US Army, Navy and Missile Defence Agency ordered 20 units of the C-HGB. In 2022, Dynetic delivered the first batch of versatile hypersonic warfare units to customers for further testing.
The C-HGB is a joint programme between the US Navy and the US Army. The project will allow the services to use the versatile projectile in their Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) and Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) hypersonic weapons, respectively.
The U.S. Army deployed LRHW in the winter. Two launchers with a combined salvo of four hypersonic missiles were deployed to Cape Canaveral, Florida. LRHW was part of the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force 5th Battalion, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment.
The hypersonic missile consists of a booster and a C-HGB glider that separates from the main unit and attacks the target. One LRWH battery will include four launchers with a total salvo of eight missiles. The launch range will be up to 2,775 kilometres.
As for the US Navy, the service will equip the first Zumwalt-class destroyer with hypersonic weapons in the middle of this decade. Lockheed Martin has already received $1.2 billion for this purpose. In the future, hypersonic missiles will appear in Virginia-class submarines.
Source: Pentagon