Air Force seeks low-cost missiles for cargo aircraft

April 28, 2026

Summary

Air Force sought information on a low-cost, long-range missile for cargo aircraft, with possible use on fighters, ships, and ground systems.

Why this matters

The proposal points to a push for lower-cost, higher-volume long-range munitions and raises questions about U.S. missile inventories across potential conflicts. It also suggests the Air Force is examining broader use of a common missile across multiple platforms.

The U.S. Air Force said it wants low-cost, long-range missiles that could be launched in large numbers from cargo aircraft.

In a recent request for information, the service said Beyond Adversary’s Reach, Family of Affordable Mass Missiles, or FAMM-BAR, would be a common air-to-surface missile carried on pallets aboard cargo aircraft. The Air Force said it envisioned producing 1,000 to 2,000 missiles a year for five years.

The goal is to “streamline the battlespace by developing a single, common, air-to surface munition that is affordable, adaptable, and possesses significant standoff range,” the request for information said.

The initial objective is an anti-ship missile with a range of at least 1,000 nautical miles, a speed of at least 533 mph, and midcourse navigation. The request described the target set as “slow moving maritime.”

The document also indicated the Air Force was exploring whether the missile could be launched from multiple platforms. It referred to “long-range employment on fighter and additional aircraft” using lugged munitions, or weapons mounted on wings or inside a bomb bay.

It also asked whether designs would be suitable for “surface to surface by Army and Navy systems.” Respondents were asked how they would “manage the aerodynamic and physical constraints for a weapon that must be both internally/externally lug mounted by fighters/bombers and deployed from a cargo pallet or for maritime operations on USN ships.” Other considerations included resistance to GPS jamming.

However, the Air Force said “this is not a request to change your current design to satisfy other services and strictly for information gathering nor is it a demand signal from the other services.”

FAMM-BAR would extend the range of the Air Force’s palletized FAMM-P and lugged FAMM-L programs, which have ranges of 250 to 500 nautical miles. The Air Force recently tested FAMM-L for compatibility with the F-16.

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