Missile, a rocket-propelled weapon designed to deliver an explosive warhead with great accuracy
at high speed. They vary from small tactical weapons that are effective out to only a few
hundred feet to much larger strategic weapons that have ranges of several thousand miles. Almost all
missiles contain some form of guidance and control mechanism and are therefore often referred to as
guided missiles. An unguided military missile, as well as any launch vehicle used to sound the
upper atmosphere or place a satellite in space, is usually referred to as a rocket.
When talking about its price, the individual cost of various missiles is an interesting and
important aspect to consider, especially given how many of them the U.S. military expends each year.
In 2019 alone, American military aircraft, manned and unmanned, employed 7,423 munitions of various
types in Afghanistan and another 4,729 in Iraq and Syria, according to official data.
This year, already, they have expended 415 and 68 weapons in those same areas, respectively.
In this episode we will collect the latest unit costs of many of the air-launched weapons to
provide audiences a sense of just how much it is spending to arm the fleets of combat aircraft.
It should be stressed that these are the prices for just the individual weapons
and do not factor in any future spending on support services, modifications, or upgrades.
Some may be surprised at just how expensive some of these weapons are. Anyway, in the
following scene, we will take a look at how much actually a single cost of a missile really is.
Number one, Rolling Airframe Missile or RAM - $905,330.
This unit price is an average across the full projected Fiscal Year 2021 order,
which includes multiple RAM variants, including the Block II and IIA.
The RAM guided missile weapon system is the world's most modern ship self-defence weapon
and is designed to provide exceptional protection for ships of all sizes. It is currently deployed
on more than 165 ships in 11 countries, ranging from 500-ton fast attack craft to 95,000-ton
aircraft carriers. A supersonic, lightweight, quick-reaction, fire-and-forget weapon,
the RAM system is designed to destroy anti-ship missiles. Requiring no additional direction upon
launch, its passive radio frequency and infrared guidance design provide high firepower to engage
multiple threats simultaneously. This missile is continually improved to stay ahead of the
ever-evolving threat of anti-ship missiles, helicopters, aircraft, and surface craft.
Number two, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile or ESSM - $1,795,000
The Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) (RIM-162) is a medium-range,
surface-to-air missile designed and manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems. The missile is
currently in service with the US Navy and some of the 12 Nato Sea Sparrow consortium nations.
ESSM (RIM 162) offers naval combatants reliable self-defence and high firepower.
The missile can be launched from surface ships to destroy threats that include high speed,
highly manoeuvring anti-ship cruise missiles, low-velocity air threats (LVATs), high-diving
threats and surface-based targets. It can also engage attack aircraft, helicopters, and ships.
ESSM is designed to counter supersonic manoeuvring anti-ship missiles. ESSM also has the ability to
be "quad-packed" in the Mark 41 Vertical Launch System, allowing up to four ESSMs to be carried
in a single cell. Based on the Fiscal Year 2021, the average cost of this missile is US$1,795,000.
Number three, Naval Strike Missile or NSM - $2,194,000. This is a very expensive weapon in
which the cost of one missile reaches $2,194,000. The Navy only requested funds to purchase 15 of
these missiles in the 2021 Fiscal Year budget. This Missile is a long-range, precision strike
weapon that seeks and destroys enemy ships at distances greater than 100 nautical miles. It
immediately advances the U.S. Navy’s vision of distributed lethality, ensuring control and
freedom of the seas. The missile has a body made of composite materials and is almost invisible on
radar. The warhead from TDW is made of titanium alloy, and has less weight, but increased
destructive power. The intelligent programmable detonator further improves the performance of
missiles. In addition, the Naval Strike Missile can fly on the crests of waves, bypass obstacles,
and perform random manoeuvres of deviation in the terminal phase. Thanks to the infrared homing
head and onboard database, NSM has an intelligent target selection system and can hit ships at the
waterline level. The navigation system can use inertial sensors, GPS, and terrain information.
Number four, Hellfire or the AGM-114. A number of different costs were reported
regarding to this missile. This is apparently due to the large number of different versions of
the missile. The average price for the Navy was reported as $45,409, for the Air Force $70,000,
and for the Army $213,143. Besides, there is specific information about the cost of Hellfire
missiles. Pentagon contracts vary across years, purchasing armies, and variants. The review of
all Hellfire missile sales to foreign countries since 2010 that were publicly available and
concluded that the average unit cost, which also includes training and technical support,
is between $130,000 and $160,000. The Pentagon commissioned 2,109 Hellfire II missiles in 2015,
including Romeo and training models, at $150,000,000, which puts the average price
of each missile unit at over $71,000. But these prices almost double when the program includes
training support, technical support, spare and repair parts as well as logistical support.
Number five, AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) - $3,960 million.
It is an autonomous, precision-guided anti-ship stand-off missile. The LRASM is being developed
by Lockheed Martin in collaboration with the US Defence Advanced Research Project
Agency and Office of Naval Research. The LRASM was intended to pioneer more sophisticated autonomous
targeting capabilities than the U.S. Navy's current Harpoon anti-ship missile, which has
been in service since 1977. Based on the fiscal year 2021, the unit cost of AGM-158C Long Range
Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) for the Air Force is up to $3.960 million and $3.518 million for the Navy.
Anyway, the next time you see a U.S. military combat aircraft, drones, or helicopters, you'll
have a head start figuring out just how much its loadout of bombs and missiles actually cost.
That’s all for today, thanks for watching and see you all in the next video.