On Thursday, April 30, 2026, the press service of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) of the USAF logistics command announced that, on April 1, the palletized cruise missile program for transport aircraft, codenamed Dragon Cart, had been officially included in National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) funding with Program of Record status.
RAACM / Image: CoAspire
The Dragon Cart program has its roots in a series of experiments conducted since 2021 by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) under the name Rapid Dragon. These experiments were intended to demonstrate that medium and heavy transport aircraft, such as the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and Boeing C-17A Globemaster III, can safely airdrop palletized payloads carrying cruise missiles from their cargo holds. Dragon Cart builds on the lessons learned from that experimental campaign, and its fielding is planned for 2027.
Under Rapid Dragon, the ability to airdrop palletized cruise missiles from the JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) family was tested, but the USAF now wants to implement cheaper effectors to be developed under the FAMM (Family of Affordable Mass Missiles) program. These are to be low-cost cruise missiles with a unit price of around 100,000–300,000 USD each and capable of engaging targets at ranges of 463 to 926 km, or 250 to 500 nautical miles.
What is intended to distinguish the Dragon Cart program is the Born Digital approach in the USAF acquisition strategy. It is intended to maximize the U.S. Department of Defense’s data rights and maintain government control over the technical baseline of the weapon system, which will be developed using model-based systems engineering.
The USAF requires a longer launch module, whose concept is currently being modeled. Load-path analysis is being conducted, and the target model will be presented to potential contractors.
By combining proven, existing technologies in a novel way and maintaining strict control over the digital architecture, the Dragon Cart program office has eliminated traditional barriers, enabling rapid scalability and future upgrades.
In executing the program, the team is using the Middle Tier Acquisition – Rapid Fielding pathway to efficiently field the Dragon Cart solution with integrated payloads. The program plans to award prototype contracts to contractors in May this year.
RAACM i RAACM-ER / Photo: CoAspire
The FAMM program has attracted proposals including the low-cost Barracuda missiles from Anduril Industries, CMMT (Common Multi-Mission Truck) from Lockheed Martin, Red Wolf from L3Harris Technologies, Black Arrow from Leidos, Rusty Dagger from Zone 5 Technologies, and RAACM (Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile) from CoAspire. The latter was originally developed for the program of the same codename, carried out by the USAF and the U.S. Navy.
Under the draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2027, President Donald Trump’s administration requested the purchase of 1,000 FAMM missiles for 355 million USD next year, and presented forecasts for the acquisition of a further 5,300 missiles for 1.85 billion USD in 2028; 5,920 missiles for 2.3 billion USD in 2029; 7,700 missiles for 4.03 billion in 2030 USD; and 7,990 missiles for 4.13 billion USD in 2031. The documents indicate that the orders will be awarded to Anduril Industries, CoAspire, and Zone 5 Technologies.
In addition, a further 55 million USD is to be allocated to the development program for the improved FAMM-Beyond Adversary Reach missile, with a range of up to 2,222 km, or 1,200 nautical miles. Comparing the above proposals, only CoAspire can offer the RAACM-ER (Extended Range), which would meet the customer’s requirements.
Back in June 2024, the Pentagon tasked Anduril Industries, Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc. (IS4S), Leidos Dynetics, and Zone 5 Technologies with examining and testing concepts for low-cost cruise missiles under the ETV (Enterprise Test Vehicle) project.
The Rapid Dragon and Dragon Cart initiatives are an attempt to operationalize the Arsenal Plane concept disclosed by the USAF in February 2016.