Army, Navy experimentation efforts foreshadow second wind for Hypervelocity Projectile
Both services view the projectile as a potential defense against unmanned aerial drone threats on land or at sea.
A rendering of BAE Systems’s Hypervelocity Projectile. (Image courtesy of BAE Systems.)
WASHINGTON — The munition once slated for use on the US Navy’s failed electromagnetic railgun may be getting a second wind for both the service’s ubiquitous MK-45 5-inch gun, as well as a new Army initiative to defend bases from aerial drones.
The Hypervelocity Projectile, produced by BAE Systems, is a maneuvering, precision guided munition capable of intercepting anti-ship cruise missiles. Its development and experimentation through multiple branches of the Pentagon spans back to 2012 when it was, at that time, destined for use on a key railgun capability to be installed on the Zumwalt-class destroyers.
The Navy ultimately canned the railgun program in 2021, instead opting to outfit the Zumwalt class with the hypersonic weapon now called “Conventional Prompt Strike.” But in the intervening years, HVP transitioned to programs at the Strategic Capabilities Office, Army and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Now, both the Navy and Army have taken up efforts that could lead to its wider fielding. For the Navy, this has come in the form of the Major Caliber Anti-Drone Air Program (MADCAP), Inside Defense reported. The crux of that testing, which began quietly last year, is to determine the viability of launching the HVP from BAE’s Mk-45 naval gun as a means of defense against the kinds of drone threats that have been pervasive in the Red Sea.
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Tate Westbrook, BAE Systems director of business development for naval guns and missile launchers, told Breaking Defense in January during the Surface Navy Association symposium that if brought to full-rate production, HVP would be a “fractional cost” compared to using Standard Missile, the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile or the Rolling Airframe Missile. (Standard Missile in particular has been a favored, but relatively expensive, interceptor for Navy destroyers tasked with eliminating low-cost Houthi-based threats in the Red Sea.)
The Navy’s ships operate using a principle of “layered defense,” meaning that ships are equipped to employ different capabilities depending on how far away a threat is spotted. Westbrook, a retired surface warfare officer, characterized the 5-inch-gun and associated HVP round as a “middle-range engagement.”
Separately from the Navy’s MADCAP program, the Army in December announced it is planning to award BAE a contract to provide what has been dubbed the Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon and Hypervelocity Projectile (MDACS) prototype.
The Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is aiming to develop and deliver a full MDACS battery no later than fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, which consists of “eight Multi-Domain Artillery Cannons, four Multi-Function Precision Radars, two Multi-Domain Battle Managers, and separately, no less than 144 Hypervelocity Projectiles,” according to a public notice.
The Army’s notice was an “intent to sole source,” meaning that no contracts have been signed yet and plans could still change pending detailed negotiations with BAE.
It’s “same basic projectile that we would offer to the Navy,” Christopher Laski, director of business development for precision guided munitions programs at BAE, told Breaking Defense this week. “The difference is, you’re going to be firing it out of an Army 155-millimeter gun.”
Similar to the Navy, the Army’s public notice explicitly calls out MDACS and HVP as a defense against unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles and other advanced air threats. The notice also said the Army is planning an assessment in 2028 to determine if the technology can be fielded.
“The Army has its procurement path, and the Navy has their procurement path to be responsive to their particular acquisition fielding needs,” said Laski. “As you start tailoring it to specific service needs, you get those efficiencies and the right skill sets… the base to go design, develop, test and deliver the particular round to a particular service’s need. And so you get some of those natural efficiencies of having a common technology base.”
