U.S. Army Awards Prototype Agreement to Textron for Damocles Loitering Munition.

The U.S. Army has awarded Textron Systems a prototype agreement under the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program to advance its Damocles loitering munition. The move supports the U.S. Army’s push to field mobile, beyond-line-of-sight precision-strike systems designed for survivability in peer-conflict environments.

Textron Systems has secured a U.S. Army prototype agreement for the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program, positioning its Damocles loitering munition as a candidate to deliver beyond-line-of-sight precision attacks against armored and high-value targets in contested environments. The effort reflects the Army’s broader modernization strategy to field mobile, survivable, and scalable top-attack capabilities that can operate where traditional direct-fire and line-of-sight systems face growing vulnerability to detection, electronic warfare, and counter-battery threats. By advancing Damocles under a formal prototype pathway, the Army aims to accelerate development timelines and refine operational concepts for future distributed formations.
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Textron Systems’ Damocles loitering munition is a lightweight VTOL-launched effect equipped with a Gen-2 Explosively Formed Penetrator warhead, designed to deliver autonomous or human-in-the-loop top-attack precision strikes against armored targets in GPS-denied and contested environments. (Picture source: Textron Systems)

The prototype agreement, announced by Textron Systems on February 25, 2026, confirms that the company will deliver its Damocles loitering munition system for demonstration to the Army under the LASSO (Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance) initiative. The effort falls within the service’s broader transformation strategy to expand organic precision-strike options at lower echelons while reducing risk to soldiers through standoff engagement and unmanned systems integration.

Damocles is structured as a launched effect, delivering a lightweight, modular Vertical Takeoff and Landing system engineered for fully or semi-autonomous search-and-strike missions. Designed to deploy without dedicated launch rails or recovery equipment, the platform significantly reduces logistical burden and enables rapid employment from dispersed or confined terrain. This VTOL architecture enables maneuver units to conduct relocatable loiter and precision-strike missions over extended ranges while maintaining a minimal signature and accelerated displacement capability.

At the core of Damocles is Textron’s second-generation Explosively Formed Penetrator warhead, engineered to defeat armored threats through top-attack geometry. Unlike conventional shaped charges that rely on focused jet penetration, EFP technology forms a high-velocity metal slug that maintains structural integrity over greater stand-off distances. The Gen-2 EFP is optimized to provide lethality overmatch against modern armored vehicles by exploiting thinner roof armor and vulnerable upper surfaces. In practical terms, this allows engagement profiles tailored for main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, air defense systems, and fortified positions in peer warfare environments.

The system integrates day-and-night Automatic Target Recognition capabilities designed to operate in all weather conditions. Combined with full-motion video feedback, Damocles supports a human-in-the-loop control architecture while retaining the ability to execute autonomous search patterns and strike sequences under degraded communications. Importantly, the platform is engineered to function in GPS-denied environments, a critical requirement given the proliferation of jamming and spoofing systems in high-intensity conflict. This resilience enhances survivability and mission assurance in contested electromagnetic battlespaces.

A ground loiter option further extends time over the target area, allowing operators to maintain persistent surveillance and strike readiness without immediately expending the munition. This feature increases tactical flexibility by enabling delayed engagement decisions, target confirmation, or dynamic retasking as battlefield conditions evolve. In distributed operations, such persistence supports reconnaissance-strike integration at the company and battalion levels without reliance on higher-echelon ISR assets.

Damocles is built around a Modular Open Systems Approach that permits the integration of alternative payloads, seekers, or electronic warfare packages to support evolving concepts of operation. This modularity allows the U.S. Army to adapt the platform for kinetic strike, electronic attack, or other mission profiles without structural redesign. In practical acquisition terms, MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach) compliance also reduces long-term upgrade costs and strengthens interoperability within joint and coalition networks.

The U.S. Army’s use of a prototype agreement mechanism indicates an accelerated pathway for experimentation and iterative refinement. Such agreements, often executed under Other Transaction Authority, allow rapid testing with operational units before committing to large-scale procurement. As the service refines its Multi-Domain Operations doctrine, systems like Damocles offer decentralized precision effects that compress sensor-to-shooter timelines and empower maneuver elements with organic deep-strike capability.

From an operational standpoint, loitering munitions bridge the gap between conventional artillery and larger unmanned aircraft systems. They provide persistent surveillance, autonomous target acquisition, and precision lethality without exposing manned platforms. By enabling stand-off engagement beyond line of sight, Damocles directly contributes to force protection while increasing the probability of first-shot kill against high-value targets.

Strategically, the LASSO program reflects recognition that armored survivability, electronic warfare threats, and dense air defense networks demand adaptable and low-signature strike solutions. A VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) loitering munition equipped with a next-generation EFP warhead offers an approach vector that is difficult to predict and challenging to counter, particularly when operating at low altitude and in GPS-contested conditions.

Textron Systems positions itself as a leading U.S. developer of policy-compliant top-attack munitions, and its experience in advanced warhead design underpins the credibility of the Damocles concept. The forthcoming Army demonstrations will evaluate not only lethality but also endurance, autonomy, reliability, network integration, sustainment demands, and effectiveness under electronic-attack conditions.

As peer adversaries continue to harden armored formations and expand counter-drone measures, the U.S. Army’s investment in modular, autonomous top-attack loitering munitions signals a decisive evolution in distributed lethality. Damocles now enters a competitive validation phase where battlefield performance, resilience in contested domains, and scalable production potential will determine its future role in shaping U.S. Army close and deep fight capabilities.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.