X-Bow to build boosters for U.S. Army’s cheap cruise missile

Leidos has picked X-Bow Systems, a New Mexico rocket motor maker, to develop and build the booster motors for the U.S. Army’s Low-Cost Containerized Munition, a ground-launched cruise missile the Pentagon wants to buy in large numbers.

X-Bow announced the selection on Oct. 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington. Under the agreement, the company will design the motor, run qualification tests and static test fires, and then move to full-rate production in 2027. Neither company disclosed the value of the deal or how many motors X-Bow will build.

The booster is the solid rocket motor that pushes a missile out of its launch container and up to flying speed in the first seconds after launch. Solid rocket motors have become one of the main bottlenecks in U.S. missile production, with most of the work long concentrated among a handful of large suppliers.

“Modern conflict is decided by how many rounds you can put downrange, not how exquisite each one is,” said X-Bow founder and CEO Jason Hundley.

The Department of War launched the Low-Cost Containerized Munition program in May, signing framework agreements with Leidos, Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5 Technologies as part of its “Arsenal of Freedom” effort to field precision weapons in volume. Leidos said its agreement covers an initial 3,000 missiles. The Pentagon has laid out plans to buy roughly 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles over three years across the program.

Leidos’ design builds on its AGM-190A Small Cruise Missile, known as Black Arrow, which was developed for launch from aircraft. The company says its containerized version is about twice the size of the AGM-190A, carries more fuel for longer range, and uses a modular airframe and open architecture so it can be upgraded quickly. It will be ground-launched at first, with possible ship- and air-launched versions later. Production is planned at Leidos facilities in Huntsville, Alabama, and McEwen, Tennessee.

X-Bow, based in Albuquerque, builds solid rocket motors using its own additive manufacturing process for the propellant. The company said the Leidos award is the sixth new propulsion program it has won in 2026, across the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and the Missile Defense Agency, and that it recently completed its first major production contract with more than 2,100 rocket motors delivered. In July, the Missile Defense Agency awarded X-Bow about $11 million to develop a solid rocket motor for a low-cost interceptor, and the company has also worked on motors for the U.S. Navy’s Standard Missile family.