US Air Force asks industry for new cruise missile for Ukraine

The U.S. Air Force is asking the defense industry whether it can deliver a new cruise missile intended for Ukraine.



Potential contractors are asked to detail their capabilities to provide the Extended Range Attack Munition, a small, air-launched standoff missile intended for mass production.



The Air Force’s new Request For Information, which has a deadline of Nov. 19, offers some technical specifications for ERAM. It should be a 500-pound class weapon with a range of greater than 250 nautical miles and a speed of more than Mach 0.6. Terminal accuracy should be within 10 meters of the target even amid jamming, such as degraded GPS. In addition to blast and fragmentation effects, the weapon should also be capable of limited penetration on impact.



The Air Force describes ERAM as a next-generation cruise missile “designed to provide affordable mass to the fight,” and which “delivers a precision-guided, stand-off capability against high-value fixed targets.”



ERAM is part of the Pentagon’s push for cheaper weapons developed more quickly. In 2024, the Air Force awarded a contract to two small defense companies — Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire — to develop ERAM prototypes. In January 2026 — less than a year and a half later, the Air Force conducted a live warhead test at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.



Similar haste can be seen in the RFI, which states that companies should begin delivering the first of more than 1,000 ERAMs no later than three months after the contract is awarded. Deliveries should be complete within 15 months.



One question is whether Ukraine is already using ERAM on its American-made F-16 fighters. In August 2025, the Trump administration announced an $825 million sale of 3,350 ERAMs to Ukraine. In June 2026, Ukrainian media suggested that Ukraine has used the AGM-188A Rusty Dagger — an ERAM version — against the Voronezh Semiconductor Plant, which makes components for Russian missiles.



Another question is to what extent the U.S. military will make use of ERAM. The Air Force published the original RFI in January 2024, nearly two years into the Ukraine War — and nearly two years before the Iran war depleted U.S. inventories of expensive missiles.