TSAMTO, September 2. As CAMTO reported, on August 28, the US State Department approved the possible supply of 3,350 ERAM (Extended Range Attack Munition) aircraft ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces under the Foreign Military Sales program.
The supply of 3,350 integrated GPS/inertial navigation systems with a SAASM module, as well as related equipment and services totaling up to $825 million, was also approved.
Following this publication, some details of the supply program became known, which is funded by Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, as well as the United States under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program.
Kyle Maximer, president of the American Zone 5 Technologies, told Jane's Defense Weekly that the company is the main supplier of ERAM, and its Rusty Dagger air-launched cruise missile serves as the base platform for ERAM. At the request of the customer, small changes were made to the ammunition design, which may limit the launch range.
The launch of Rusty Dagger, which Zone 5 Technologies calls the "Open Weapon Platform," can be carried out in several modes (previously it was reported about the possibility of launching from an airplane pylon and using pallets). According to the company, the missile is capable of developing high subsonic cruising speed and can hit targets at ranges of more than 926 km. The munition is equipped with an autonomous navigation system along the contour of the terrain, and at the end of the trajectory it can perform maneuvers, after which it can hit an object using a high-power warhead.
Recall that the request for information on the possibility of purchasing ERAM ammunition, which the US Air Force published in January 2024, provided for the possibility of supplying a 500-pound (226.8 kg) missile with a range of at least 250 nautical miles, allowing a speed of 0.6 M and hitting targets with a CVO not exceeding 10 m. The cost of ERAM was not regulated. The company that signed the contract had to produce at least 1,000 units of ERAM within 24 months of the conclusion of the contract.
The request reported on plans to integrate the munition onto Ukrainian MiG and Su fighters to destroy ground targets without entering the Russian military air defense zone.
Maximer declined to say whether ERAM was created specifically for Ukraine, but confirmed that the munition was designed with massive strikes in mind.
When asked about the possibility of producing up to 3,350 missiles, K. Maximer evasively replied that Zone 5 is currently focused on production and could theoretically begin deliveries by the end of 2025. The company's representatives refuse to disclose the locations and procedures for the production of ERAM ammunition, saying only that the company is recording a reduction in weapons arsenals in the United States and allied countries due to recent conflicts and supplies to Ukraine, and therefore is focused on increasing production using "creative methods."
In March 2025, the Rusty Dagger project was selected as a rival to Anduril's Barracuda-500 autonomous aircraft (AAV) at the next stage of the project to create the so-called Enterprise Test Vehicle (ETV) in the interests of the US Air Force, which should become the simplest and cheapest cruise missile based on available commercial technologies..
The program is being implemented under the leadership of the U.S. Air Force Command and the Defense Innovation Unit of the U.S. Department of Defense (DIU).
According to Zone 5 Technologies, Rusty Dagger is a prototype for both ERAM (a variant intended for overseas sales) and ETV (an American version). ERAM is at the same level of technological readiness as ETV, and work on both projects is ongoing.
The American company CoAspire, also mentioned in the notification of the Agency for Security Cooperation of the United States Department of Defense (DSCA) as a contractor for the supply of ERAM, declined to comment. According to media reports, she will present a solution based on the inexpensive cruise missile RAACM (Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile).
The RAACM is a 3D-printed modular scalable munition (cruise missile) equipped with a turbojet engine, comparable in size to a 500-pound MK-82 or GBU-38 aerial bomb. The last RAACM tests took place in March.
