With the Iran conflict straining US stockpiles of expensive guided munitions, the Pentagon is pushing a new project to rapidly develop cheap, long-range strike weapons that can be mass produced. Specifically, the requirement is for long-range, autonomously guided Ground-Based Affordable Mass (GBAM) weapons — systems that must hit a sub-$250,000 flyaway cost at scale, with an overall cost-per-effect target below $500,000 factoring in reliability and mission success rate. The timeline is aggressive and comes in two stages: flight demonstrations within 60 to 90 days of selection, followed by full-scale production readiness within 12 to 18 months.

The goal of this "GBAM Challenge," as the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has dubbed it, is to complement expensive smart munitions with affordable, scalable long-range effects — in DIU's words, to "enable commanders to service a broader target set, preserve exquisite munitions for their intended purpose, and sustain operational tempo throughout a prolonged conflict." Selected teams will be invited to a Phase II flight demonstration at a government test site in early November, where they'll deliver a 30-minute system overview to government and allied evaluators. Companies that demonstrate will receive an initial $250,000 cash prize; the top-rated solutions will be eligible for up to $5 million to immediately deliver operational test quantities to units. In total, the government has budgeted up to $250 million to support the prize challenge and follow-on transition activities.

DIU doesn't specify whether GBAM will be a missile or a drone, but the basic constraint is a favorable cost-per-effect at operationally relevant ranges — beyond 600 nautical miles — while minimizing the logistical, training, and sustainment burden on employing units. The weapon must be ground-launched, carry a minimum 35-pound payload (with systems capable of exceeding 100 pounds prioritized), and feature automatic target recognition with autonomous terminal guidance, able to operate in jamming and GPS-denied environments. This includes alternative or redundant navigation capabilities suitable for GPS/GNSS-denied operations in maritime and other "feature-poor" environments.

GBAM sits alongside several other Pentagon efforts to field strike weapons that break from the traditional high-cost, low-volume missile model. The Air Force's Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) program is pursuing multiple low-cost cruise missile variants for palletized launch from cargo aircraft such as the C-130 and C-17, as well as versions carried directly on aircraft hardpoints. An extended-range variant, FAMM-BAR ("Beyond Adversary's Reach"), is being developed within that family to push range beyond 1,000 nautical miles. Separately, the Low-Cost Containerized Missiles (LCCM) program aims to scale production of low-cost cruise missiles fired from shipping-container-style launchers, while a related but distinct effort is pursuing a lower-cost hypersonic strike weapon, built around Castelion's BLACKBEARD missile.