Shares of Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ:PDYN) surged about 13% on Wednesday morning after the company announced that its subsidiary GuideTech had secured a contract from the U.S. Navy to develop a new air-launched missile system.
The project involves the development of the Air-Launched Rapid Response Missile (ALRRM), a long-range weapon designed to achieve near-hypersonic speeds while remaining significantly cheaper than other air-breathing hypersonic missiles, the company said.
According to Palladyne AI, the ALRRM is engineered to travel more than 350 nautical miles at high altitude while sustaining cruise speeds above Mach 4.0. The system will carry a 150-pound warhead and use an air-breathing solid-fuel ramjet propulsion system. The missile is also being designed to meet specific size and weight requirements set by the military.
“The 2025 National Security Strategy explicitly states that the U.S. must build ’next-generation missiles with a clear and urgent need for cost-effective, high-performance strike capabilities’ for the U.S. military,” said Ben Wolff, President and CEO of Palladyne AI. “As identified by the U.S. Navy and evidenced by our recently awarded contract, the ALRRM system is designed to address this need — delivering near hypersonic speed and range at a fraction of the cost.”
The company did not provide details about the financial value of the Navy contract.