The US Navy Has Its Sights on a New Hypersonic Missile—for Only $300,000

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The US Navy is buying roughly 350 advanced missiles from defense contractor Castelion next year—and is expected to buy considerably more in the next five years.

The US Navy has chosen its primary hypersonic strike munition: the Multi-mission Affordable Capacity Effector, or MACE.

The service is planning on spending billions of dollars in the next few years to build up its hypersonic strike capability by buying thousands of MACE munitions.  

What Is the “MACE” Missile?

The MACE is an air-launched anti-ship hypersonic munition designed to take out Chinese and Russian warships. One of the most appealing aspects of the MACE is its low-cost design: the missile is estimated to cost around $300,000 per munition—far less than comparable missiles like the AGM-158 LRASM, with a sticker price of roughly $3 million. The Navy also wants the MACE to be........

© The National Interest