The American defense startup Ares Industries has announced the first flight test of a new anti-ship cruise missile being developed for the US military.
The weapon, which is said to be ten times smaller and cheaper than existing missile systems, was tested within eleven weeks of the company opening.
It is reportedly intended to help close the “ammunition gap” created by the expensive weapons in the US military’s inventory.
Cruise missile manufacturer Ares Industries today launched part of the current batch of YC.
This is YC’s first weapons venture and this is a recent photo of their missile.
Here’s the story of Ares Industries and why we funded them. (1/10) pic.twitter.com/n8KR4bFaaN
— Jared Friedman (@snowmaker) 21 August 2024
Anti-ship cruise missiles typically weigh 1,360 kilograms and cost about three million dollars.
But Ares Industries’ initiative gives the military the opportunity to purchase a smaller, 300-pound (136-kilogram) cruise missile for around $300,000.
“A good idea”
Y Combinator Management, the US company that funds Ares Industries, said developing a much cheaper rocket system made sense because major rocket manufacturers had become “bloated” due to increased global demand.
In addition, it is not practical to spend large sums of money on eliminating small targets using very expensive weapons systems, it was said.
“Anti-ship missiles only come in one size: big. These missiles were designed to blow up huge destroyers,” said company founder Jared Friedman wrote on X. “But the Chinese Navy’s frigates are much smaller. And now we have drone ships.”
“It doesn’t make sense to take out a $200,000 drone ship with a $3 million missile.”
Like other available missile systems, Ares promises a weapon that is compatible with existing launch platforms and can take out targets hundreds of kilometers away.
The company said it is currently focused on ground- and ship-based variants, but is also open to the possibility of developing an air-launched version with longer range and different payload configurations.
Delivery of the rocket to the first customers is planned for mid-2025.
