The Defense Department (DOD) announced on Oct. 19 that it reached a multiyear framework agreement with BAE Systems to produce up to 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser guidance kits annually for up to seven years.
The agreement also creates a pathway to increase annual production to 35,000 kits to meet demand from international allies, provided partner nations submit formal requests through the Foreign Military Sales process.
However, the framework does not provide funding for the planned purchases. Congress would need to authorize and appropriate funding for the multiyear procurement.
The APKWS guidance kits convert unguided 70-millimeter rockets into precision-guided munitions. The Pentagon described the system as a combat-proven interceptor designed to counter a range of aerial threats, including drones.
According to BAE Systems, the APKWS system is used across the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force, providing a precision-guided option between unguided rockets and larger anti-armor munitions.
The company said the kits are compatible with multiple platforms and can support air-to-surface, surface-to-surface, surface-to-air, and air-to-air operations.
The framework is intended to give BAE Systems a longer-term demand signal to support production planning and expansion while allowing the Pentagon to increase interceptor inventories.
“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,” said Michael Duffey, under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.
The federal government is operating under a continuing resolution through Dec. 11, which generally limits spending to prior year levels and restricts new procurement starts without specific authorization.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the War Department.