Lockheed Martin to build air-to-ground missile system

Lockheed Martin will manufacture air-to-ground missile systems for foreign customers, the Defense Department announced Thursday.

The first contract is for Lockheed to build and deliver the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) system through a foreign military sale for $22 million with the work being done in Orlando, FL with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2026, the announcement reads.

Australia, Czech Republic, France, India, South Korea and Spain are the recipients of the missile.

The contract follows a similar foreign military sales contract announced in August.

Designed to succeed the military’s Hellfire family of missiles, the JAGM system has a multipurpose warhead designed to simultaneously acquire multiple targets, including those that are stationary, moving, airborne or at sea.

The JAGM can be launched from the MQ-1C uncrewed aerial vehicle, the Army’s Apache helicopters and the Marine Corps’ Viper helicopters.

In April 2023, the Army awarded Lockheed the first procurement contract following an approval for full-rate production the previous year.

The Army expects to procure 901 JAGMs in fiscal year 2024, according to budget documents.