Two separate designs by non-traditional defense companies CoAspire and Zone 5 Technologies will be manufactured. The USAF issued contracts for the ERAM in October 2024 and both designs made a first flight four months later. The program has a $225 million budget, and is managed by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Armament Directorate.[1]
The ERAM is described as a hybrid between a cruise missile and an advanced guided bomb, carrying a 500 pounds (230kg) warhead to a range of up to 280 miles (450km), at speeds of at least 430mph (690km/h).[2]
The requirements are in line with Boeing's PJDAM (a powered derivative of the JDAM), a powered version of Raytheon’s Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) glide bomb, or those of Northrop Grumman's "Gray Wolf" design.[3] The weapon was assigned the designation AGM-188A with name "Rusty Dagger".[4]
Delivery plans
It is planned to deliver a first batch of 840 ERAMs in October 2026. Ukraine will receive some of this batch for use in the Russo-Ukrainian War, and is cleared to purchase up to 3,350 ERAMs including spares and support equipment for an estimated cost of $825 million.[1][5] Ukraine is expected to use funding from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and United States Foreign Military Financing for the purchase.[6]
