Zone 5 Technologies AGM-188 Rusty Dagger

History

The AGM-188 Rusty Dagger is a low-cost subsonic cruise missile developed by Zone 5 Technologies in the United States. The design has been associated with U.S. Air Force efforts to rapidly field affordable, mass-producible long-range precision weapons and is also being adapted for maritime strike.

Rusty Dagger has been linked to both the Enterprise Test Vehicle effort and the Extended Range Attack Munition requirement. In 2026, the U.S. Navy selected Zone 5 to develop a maritime strike version for the Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike, or CHAOS, program.

Public information about the missile remains limited, and published specifications differ between sources. Available reporting nevertheless identifies a compact turbojet-powered weapon intended to combine comparatively low production cost with standoff range and flexible integration.

Development

In early 2024, the U.S. Air Force issued a request for information for the Extended Range Attack Munition program. The requirement called for a rapidly producible air-to-ground precision weapon in the 225 kg class, with a multi-purpose warhead, at least 460 km of range, a minimum speed of Mach 0.6, and accuracy of 10 m CEP or better in degraded GPS conditions. These figures were program requirements and should not be treated as confirmed Rusty Dagger performance specifications.

Zone 5 developed Rusty Dagger while competing in multiple U.S. Air Force acquisition efforts. According to Designation Systems, the company was selected with Anduril in March 2025 to continue into Phase 2 of the Enterprise Test Vehicle program, which had evolved toward a low-cost, mass-producible air-launched cruise missile.

Published accounts disagree on the timing of the first flight. A Deagel listing gives July 2024, but it also attributes the program to Raytheon, conflicting with the consistently reported Zone 5 Technologies attribution. Other reporting places prototype flights several months after U.S. Air Force contracts issued in October 2024, indicating an early 2025 first-flight timeframe. The 2025 chronology is therefore used for the article year.

In September 2025, the U.S. Air Force assigned the designation AGM-188A and the name Rusty Dagger to the Zone 5 weapon. An August 2025 U.S. Foreign Military Sale approval covered up to 3,350 ERAM weapons for Ukraine, although the approved package included more than one ERAM design rather than 3,350 Rusty Daggers alone. The broader program history and reported delivery planning are summarized in the AGM-188 overview.

Testing and integration

Testing continued into 2026. A model of an F-16 carrying AGM-188A stores was evaluated in an aerodynamic wind tunnel at Arnold Air Force Base in March 2026. Subsequent F-16 work included fit checks, loading procedures, captive-carry activity and weapon separation testing, according to a contemporary Rusty Dagger report.

CHAOS maritime strike program

On 21 August 2026, the U.S. Navy announced an award to Zone 5 Technologies for a maritime strike version of Rusty Dagger under the CHAOS program. The source report identifies the award as a $65 million Other Transaction Agreement. CHAOS is intended to provide modular, surface-launched, low-cost precision strike weapons for the United States and allied partners.

The Zone 5 award followed an earlier CHAOS contract to CoAspire for the surface-launched RAACM-ER. According to Naval News, the Navy program is focused on scalable and exportable maritime strike capability. No separate U.S. designation for the maritime Rusty Dagger variant was identified in the supplied material.

Design

Rusty Dagger is a compact turbojet-powered cruise missile designed around low-cost production and long-range precision attack. Public descriptions place it in roughly the 200 kg class, although published weight figures range from about 200 kg to 227 kg. The missile is approximately 2.64 m long.

Propulsion and performance

The AGM-188A is reported to use a single PBS Aerospace TJ80 turbojet. Published missile-specific data describe a high-subsonic cruise speed and claim an air-launched range exceeding 930 km. These figures are substantially greater than the original ERAM minimum range requirement of 460 km, and public sources caution that available specifications vary.

Guidance

Reported guidance includes GPS and inertial navigation. An autonomous visual-navigation option has also been reported. The original ERAM requirement called for 10 m CEP or better in GPS-degraded conditions, but the available material does not establish that this requirement is a confirmed production specification for every AGM-188 configuration.

Warhead

Missile-specific reporting describes a conventional warhead weighing approximately 45 kg. This differs from descriptions of the broader ERAM requirement that cite a much heavier payload, reinforcing the need to distinguish Rusty Dagger specifications from generic ERAM program requirements.

Launch integration

The AGM-188A has undergone integration work with the F-16. Public descriptions of the wider concept also discuss fighter carriage, palletized employment from cargo aircraft and possible ground-launched configurations, but the supplied evidence does not establish a complete operational platform list. The CHAOS version is specifically being developed for surface-launched maritime strike.

Operational history

Reports published in 2026 stated that small numbers of Rusty Dagger missiles had reached Ukraine and had been tested in combat. Later reporting linked likely AGM-188A debris to Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia beginning in June 2026. These identifications and the exact scale of employment remain based on reporting rather than detailed official inventories.

Naval News described Rusty Dagger as being in production for Ukraine and characterized the missile as combat-proven. Because independently published details remain limited, claims about exact numbers delivered, success rates and specific targets should be treated cautiously.

Variants

• AGM-188A Rusty Dagger: Air-launched low-cost cruise missile developed by Zone 5 Technologies and associated with the ETV and ERAM programs.
• CHAOS maritime strike variant: Surface-launched maritime strike development selected by the U.S. Navy in August 2026. A separate designation was not identified in the supplied material.

Program status

By August 2026, Rusty Dagger was reported to be in production for Ukraine while additional U.S. integration and development continued. The U.S. Navy's $65 million CHAOS award expands the missile family into a surface-launched maritime strike role intended for U.S. and allied use.

Specifications (AGM-188A Rusty Dagger)

General characteristics

• Manufacturer: Zone 5 Technologies
• Type: Subsonic cruise missile
• Length: 2.64 m (104 in)
• Mass: Approximately 200 kg (450 lb); some public reporting gives approximately 227 kg (500 lb)
• Warhead: Conventional warhead
• Warhead mass: Approximately 45 kg (100 lb)
• Engine: One PBS Aerospace TJ80 turbojet

Performance

• Maximum range: More than 930 km (500 nmi), claimed for the air-launched missile
• Speed: High subsonic