Pentagon, BAE sign deal for up to 25,000 precision-guided munition kits a year

The Defense Department has signed a framework agreement with BAE Systems to buy up to 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS, guidance kits a year for as long as seven years, the department announced Monday .

APKWS kits convert unguided 2.75-inch rockets into laser-guided munitions. All four services field them, and the weapon has become a cheaper alternative to air-to-air missiles for shooting down drones.

Congress still has to approve and fund the buy, the department said. BAE said it will increase production while the two sides work out a multiyear contract. Neither side announced the deal’s cost.

The framework also outlines a path to increase output to 35,000 kits a year for U.S. allies. The department said that added capacity will come online as partner nations formally request kits through the Foreign Military Sales program.

“By securing multi-year demand, this agreement keeps production lines running at capacity, provides our forces with interceptor inventory, and flips the cost calculus in the taxpayer’s favor,” Michael Duffey, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said in the announcement.

BAE, which builds the kits in Hudson, New Hampshire, and Austin, Texas, said in February that it had delivered its 100,000th kit .

The 25,000 figure in this framework agreement matches capacity BAE has cited before. A company official said in 2023 that APKWS was in full-rate production with room to grow to 25,000 units a year.

“APKWS delivers proven, reliable and affordable precision at scale to counter evolving threats and ensure our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage,” said Tom Arseneault, president and CEO of BAE Systems Inc.

The Navy’s current five-year APKWS contract with BAE, awarded in August 2025 , is worth up to $1.74 billion. It covers up to 55,000 kits for the Navy, the Army and foreign customers, with work expected to be completed by December 2031.

Among allied buyers, Saudi Arabia won State Department approval in July for a possible $1.96 billion package that includes up to 20,000 APKWS kits, split evenly between air-to-air and air-to-ground versions. Italy is also weighing a buy of 5,031 kits for counter-drone defense.

The APKWS agreement is the latest in a series of framework deals the Pentagon has signed this year to boost munitions production.

In January, Lockheed Martin agreed to more than triple production of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, or PAC-3 MSE, interceptor.

In March, BAE and Lockheed agreed to quadruple production of seekers for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptor. A separate THAAD framework signed in January led to a June contract worth more than $35 billion for the interceptors themselves.

Michael Scanlon is a defense journalist covering air and space warfare. A former U.S. Air Force A-10 crew chief, he has supported land and sea programs for the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

美国国防部周一宣布，已与 BAE 系统公司签署框架协议，每年购买多达 25,000 套先进精确杀伤武器系统 (APKWS) 制导组件，期限长达七年。

APKWS套件可以将2.75英寸非制导火箭弹改装成激光制导武器。美国四大军种均已装备该套件，这种武器已成为击落无人机的比空空导弹更经济的选择。

该部门表示，国会仍需批准并拨款购买这批设备。BAE系统公司表示，在双方商定多年期合同期间，将提高产量。双方均未公布交易金额。

该框架还概述了将产量提高到每年3.5万套供美国盟友使用的方案。国防部表示，新增产能将随着伙伴国家通过对外军售计划正式提出套件需求而投入使用。

五角大楼负责采购和保障的副部长迈克尔·达菲在声明中表示：“通过确保多年的需求，这项协议使生产线保持满负荷运转，为我们的部队提供拦截器库存，并使成本计算向纳税人有利的方向转变。”

BAE公司在新罕布什尔州哈德逊和德克萨斯州奥斯汀生产这些套件，该公司在2月份表示，已经交付了第10万套套件。

该框架协议中提到的25,000台产能与BAE系统公司此前公布的产能相符。该公司一位官员在2023年表示，APKWS已全面投产，并有提升至每年25,000台产能的空间。

“APKWS 能够大规模地提供经过验证、可靠且经济实惠的精确制导，以应对不断演变的威胁，并确保我们的作战人员保持决定性优势，” BAE Systems Inc. 总裁兼首席执行官 Tom Arseneault 表示。

美国海军目前与BAE系统公司签订的为期五年的APKWS合同于2025年8月授予，价值高达17.4亿美元。该合同涵盖为海军、陆军和外国客户提供多达55000套组件，预计将于2031年12月完成。

在盟国买家中，沙特阿拉伯7月份获得了美国国务院的批准，拟采购价值19.6亿美元的武器装备，其中包括至多2万套APKWS系统，空对空和空对地版本各占一半。意大利也在考虑购买5031套用于反无人机防御系统。

APKWS协议是五角大楼今年为促进军火生产而签署的一系列框架协议中的最新一项。

今年 1 月，洛克希德·马丁公司同意将爱国者先进能力-3 导弹段增强型（PAC-3 MSE）拦截器的产量提高三倍以上。

今年3月，BAE系统公司和洛克希德·马丁公司同意将末段高空区域防御系统（THAAD）拦截器的导引头产量提高四倍。此前，双方于1月签署了一项THAAD框架协议，并于6月签订了一份价值超过350亿美元的拦截器合同。

迈克尔·斯坎伦是一位报道空天战的国防记者。他曾是美国空军A-10攻击机的机组长，并为美国陆军、海军、海军陆战队和海岸警卫队的陆地和海上项目提供支持。