Why the Pentagon Wants Cheap Missiles by the Thousands

The Pentagon is preparing to test low-cost missiles from a handful of disruptive defense technology companies. The goal is to build stockpiles of cheap munitions that can be bought by the thousands, avoiding shortages in a major conflict. This marks a departure from decades of relying on expensive, precision-guided weapons that are slow to produce and deplete quickly in high-intensity warfare.

Pentagon’s Low-Cost Missile Testing Program

The testing phase will evaluate missiles from non-traditional contractors. The military wants to rapidly scale production of attritable systems – weapons cheap enough to be used in large numbers without crippling the budget. The push follows observations from the war in Ukraine, where both sides burned through advanced munitions faster than expected. The Pentagon now sees a need for a deep magazine of lower-cost alternatives that can be manufactured quickly.

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that even advanced munitions like Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger surface-to-air missiles are consumed at rates that strain production capacity. The US has sent thousands of these systems to Ukraine, depleting stockpiles and exposing the limits of a procurement model built around low-volume, high-cost weapons. The Pentagon’s pivot to low-cost missiles is a direct response to that reality. It wants weapons that can be produced in the tens of thousands without years-long lead times.

The program is not about replacing high-end missiles entirely. It adds a new layer of mass to the arsenal. The testing will determine whether these disruptive firms can meet military requirements for range, accuracy, and reliability at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems.