The US Navy is gearing up for a major arms investment in fiscal year 2024. The service is asking for $6.9 billion in the draft defense budget.

What is known

The plan for the next financial year does not provide for a sharp increase in the number of missiles. At the same time, the US Navy will order Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missiles for the first time ahead of integration on Zumwalt-class destroyers in 2025.

The service wants to purchase 81 AGM-158C LRASM anti-ship missiles and 10 extended-range AGM-158C-3 LRASM-ER units. Most of all, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AGM-179 JAGM and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles will be purchased – 374, 264 and 147 units, respectively.

The budget proposal for the next fiscal year lists 250 GBU-53/B StormBreaker bombs, 40 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles (configuration not specified), and 84 extended-range AGM-88G AARGM-ER missiles.

In addition to this, the US Navy will offer Lockheed Martin 5-year contracts for the production of LRASM missiles and Raytheon for the production of AMRAAM, Naval Strike Missile and Standard Missile. The service will increase the volume of MK 48 torpedoes from 28 to 71 units, but will suspend the purchase of Tomahawk. Instead of acquiring new cruise missiles, the US Navy wants to allocate funds for the modernization of more than 700 existing missiles.

Source: Defense News