Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures
Multiple countries have been deploying small arms as the last line of drone defence due to their multiple operational and tactical advantages.
USAF awards another Mk21A contract modification
A USAF maintenance airman removes the screws holding the nose point of a Minuteman III ICBM to the rest of the re-entry system inside a payload transporter. (Photo: USAF Nuclear Weapons Center)
Lockheed Martin is to assist the much-needed US ICBM fuze modernisation programme, as the existing Mk21 fuze is already three times past its design life.
Lockheed Martin has obtained a $51.22 million contract modification from the USAF Nuclear Weapon Center to provide engineering services for arming and fuzing subsystem on the Mk21A Reentry Vehicle (RV).
Work will be performed at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by 31 October 2023.
The total cumulative face value of the contract is $255.31 million, the DoD noted on 4 August.
Budget documents from the USAF note that the ‘legacy Mk21 fuze is three times past its design life’ and it cannot meet requirements for the US nuclear weapons stockpile.
The USAF has requested $129.7 million for ICBM fuze modernisation in FY2022.
Lockheed Martin is already working on a technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) R&D contract for the RV, with a scheduled completion date of 21 October 2022.
The aim of the TMRR effort is to add the capability for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent system to deliver the W87-1 warhead.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures]()
-
![Singapore Airshow 2026: ST Engineering hints at export success for AME assault rifle family]()
Singapore Airshow 2026: ST Engineering hints at export success for AME assault rifle family
The Singapore-based technology company unveiled its new rifle family at this week’s airshow. Chen Chuanren spoke with the ST Engineering’s head of small arms to find out more about how the weapons have been refined.
-
![High tension in the High North – a wake-up call for NATO’s future Arctic defence efforts?]()
High tension in the High North – a wake-up call for NATO’s future Arctic defence efforts?
Any potential ‘Arctic Sentry’ mission would be months in the planning, but with tensions high in the region given the US’s push for Greenland, NATO countries will need to continue to emphasise their commitment to the region, analysts have said.
-
![Venezuela prepares personnel and equipment for a potential second US attack]()
Venezuela prepares personnel and equipment for a potential second US attack
Defence Minister Gen Vladimir Padrino López has declared that the Venezuelan armed forces “will continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defence”.
-
![As the new year starts, the UK defence spending delay continues]()
As the new year starts, the UK defence spending delay continues
The UK’s defence spending commitments remain uncertain as the government’s Defence Investment Plan, which had been due by the end of 2025, is yet to be published.
-
![How might European countries look to tackle drone incursions?]()
How might European countries look to tackle drone incursions?
Disruption of infrastructure in Europe, whether by cyberattack, physical damage to pipelines or uncrewed aerial vehicles flying over major airports, as has happened more recently, is on the rise. What is the most effective way of countering the aerial aspect of this not-so-open warfare?
