Pictured is U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Lyons during his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee in March. Lyons is the service's portfolio acquisition executive for weapons and the head of the armament directorate.

As the Pentagon posits future confrontations involving advanced adversary aircraft and drone swarms, the U.S. Air Force wants rapid prototyping to develop and field 1,000 to 3,500 supersonic ground-launched counter air (GLCA) missiles with a unit cost of $500,00 or lower. Initially, the Counter Air Missile Program (CAMP) is to develop Enterprise Test Vehicles (ETVs) for the ground-launched counter air missiles. "The focus of the effort is development of an affordable, digital, open/modular, and highly producible ground launched counter air…