The US Navy has awarded two contracts to develop the CHAOS maritime strike system, a low-cost exportable weapon intended to enter production in a ground-launched configuration by 2028.
The US Navy has awarded development contracts to CoAspire and Zone 5 for a new affordable maritime strike weapon intended from the outset for use by allied and partner nations, the UK Defence Journal understands.
The Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike programme, known as CHAOS, is being managed by the Navy’s Precision Strike Weapons programme office, PMX-201, under Program Acquisition Executive Munitions. According to a US Navy news update, the objective is to produce a low-cost, scalable precision-strike capability that can be supplied rapidly to international partners facing growing anti-ship requirements.
CoAspire and Zone 5 are described by the Navy as non-traditional defence industry entrants. Their contracts were placed through Other Transaction Authority arrangements, a procurement mechanism frequently used by the Pentagon for prototype and development activity outside some of the requirements associated with conventional acquisition contracts. The Navy says the approach is intended to accelerate development while maintaining competition and bringing new suppliers into the precision-weapons industrial base.
Captain Sarah Abbott, PMX-201 programme manager, said, as quoted in the news update: “As adversaries increasingly deploy advanced area denial systems, coalition and allied forces face significant challenges in maintaining credible, modern, and affordable anti-ship capabilities.”
She added: “CHAOS closes this capability gap, by delivering a highly capable, adaptable, and exportable maritime strike solution that overcomes present day obsolescence and supply chain challenges.”
The programme differs from many previous US weapon developments in that international release requirements are being considered from the beginning rather than after a system has first been designed around American requirements. The Navy describes this as a “partner-first” acquisition strategy, with foreign governments being invited to help shape requirements through Foreign Military Sales cases while the weapon remains in development.
Van Hendrey, Portfolio Acquisition Executive Munitions, said: “These awards are the next milestone in developing an affordable maritime strike capability for security assistance partners, while expanding the defense industrial base through competition and accelerating a new entrant into the Navy’s precision-strike portfolio.”
He continued: “We saw significant demand from our international partners and worked with them to understand and incorporate their requirements from the outset. By building in exportability on day one, we are positioned to deliver an affordable warfighting capability to our partners at speed.”
The Navy has not disclosed the value of the two development awards, nor has it published detailed performance characteristics for CHAOS such as range, speed, seeker configuration, warhead or expected unit cost. It has, however, set out an initial pathway for fielding. The first configuration is planned as an expeditionary ground-launched weapon, with production expected to begin in 2028. Surface-launched versions are intended to follow, while an air-launched configuration could be developed if operational demand justifies it.
CHAOS is being built around the Modular Open Systems Approach and Weapon Open System Architecture standards. According to the Navy, that design philosophy is intended to make it easier to modify software and hardware as requirements change, rather than locking the weapon into a single fixed configuration. It could also allow different partner nations to integrate components or supporting systems according to their own industrial and operational requirements.
The service is explicitly leaving open the possibility of co-assembly and local integration, potentially allowing participating countries to carry out part of the manufacturing or final integration process domestically. That approach could make the programme attractive to governments seeking both a new maritime strike weapon and a greater degree of national industrial involvement.
Rear Admiral Ray Owens, Director of the Navy International Programs Office, said: “Our priority is building real, integrated capability with our allies and partners.”
He added: “We’re working to advance interoperability, strengthen joint deterrence, and enhance fleet readiness at the speed of relevance, while remaining fully aligned with our fleet’s operational needs.”
CoAspire and Zone 5 will now develop their respective solutions under the prototype contracts as the Navy works with interested partner governments on future requirements. The first major target remains production of an expeditionary ground-launched maritime strike capability in 2028, followed by expansion into naval surface launchers and potentially aircraft if the programme progresses as planned.
