On July 11, the US Air Force announced it is accelerating the development of a new weapon specifically designed to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia. This “Extended-Range Attack Munition” (ERAM) is envisioned as a low-cost, rapidly deployable air-launched weapon with a range exceeding 250 nautical miles (288 miles).
Following initial interest from sixteen undisclosed companies after a January request for information (RFI), the Air Force has issued a follow-up RFI explicitly stating ERAM’s purpose: strengthening Ukraine’s military capabilities.
The latest RFI outlines a phased procurement plan. The goal is to rapidly prototype and adapt a commercially available, autonomous, modular, and open-architecture vehicle capable of delivering affordable long-range strikes.
“This munition is pivotal for accelerating Ukraine’s capability to meet warfighter needs efficiently and provides an affordable mass weapon to be produced at scale,” the RFI states.
Minimum requirements for ERAM, as detailed earlier this year, include a 500-pound class munition equipped with a blast and fragmentation warhead effective against both open areas and armored targets. Additionally, ERAM requires a minimum speed of Mach 0.6 and a range exceeding 250 nautical miles. Notably, the document doesn’t specify whether the munition needs an onboard propulsion system. Finally, ERAM must be able to navigate without GPS and achieve at least a 50% success rate in landing within 33 feet of the target point.
This ERAM project is one of several Pentagon initiatives focused on developing new, low-cost, air-launched munitions. Earlier this year, the Navy released similar requirements for the “Multi-Mission Affordable Capacity Effector,” a smaller, more affordable weapon designed for F-35C fighter jets.
