WASHINGTON: One of the few entirely new major Pentagon weapon systems appears to be rising from the dead, with the $5 billion Joint Air To Ground Missile living on roughly $300 million of money already appropriated and securing supportive language in the House Armed Services Committee’s first draft of the defense policy bill.

“The rumors of the program’s demise were greatly exaggerated,” said J.R. Smith, Raytheon’s head of business development for JAGM. He says “it’s probably reasonable to assume there is about $300 million left” over from 2011 and 2012 funding to keep the program running through fiscal 2013. The Army, which has been named executive acquisition authority for the program, is expected to award two sole source contracts of the “not-to-exceed-undefinitized” type this summer to both companies. Keep reading →