The Air Force is moving quickly to develop and prototype a new ground-launched, low-cost supersonic counter-air missile, according to a draft solicitation issued on Friday, which calls for awarding contracts as soon as the end of September.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s weapons directorate will host a classified two-day industry day event May 27 and 28 centered on the Counter-Air Missile Program’s ground-launched variant, the notice says.

A formal request for proposals from industry is planned for early July, followed by prototyping contract award decisions no later than the end of September, it adds.

CAMP is an extension of the service’s now blooming Family of Affordable Mass Munitions and Enterprise Test Vehicle programs.

Those efforts are focused on building modular weapon systems that can be updated without extensive redesign in real time, built cheaply at scale and make use of a robust vendor base.

“Focus of the effort is development of an affordable, digital, open/modular, and highly producible ground launched counter air ETV to support rapid integration and demonstration of commercial or minimally modified sub-systems and components into a new missile prototype,” the service wrote in the draft solicitation.

If the supersonic CAMP weapon successfully completes ETV prototyping, the Air Force says it would likely shift into production and become part of the FAMM effort as a ground-launched, counter-air option.

“In response to challenges posed by escalating system complexity and prolonged time-to-field cycles, the ETV effort aims to revolutionize defense development paradigms,” according to the draft solicitation. “The imperative to address these challenges swiftly is underscored by the need for agility, efficiency, and innovation to meet evolving warfighter needs.”

The CAMP program kicked off with about $250 million from the $150 billion reconciliation package passed last summer, as the government has “identified a need” for such capabilities as a future part of the affordable mass munitions portfolio.

The weapons would also be used to garner mass in battle and pad the Pentagon’s rapidly dwindling munitions inventory.

The ground-launched supersonic CAMP prototype should use systems with high technology readiness levels to be able to complete a first flight test within nine months to demonstrate vehicle ground-launch, range and speed, according to a November request for white papers.

The Air Force is prioritizing “affordability and producibility” over exquisite capabilities and wants deliveries of 1,000 to 3,500 all-up rounds per year for less than $500,000 each in full-rate production, the November post states.