First Images Show US-Made Rusty Dagger Low-Cost Cruise Missile Firing From a Ground Launcher

Zone 5 Technologies released the first public images of its Block 40 Rusty Dagger cruise missile firing from a ground-based launcher, demonstrating an adaptation of the originally air-launched weapon. The new configuration adds a solid-fuel launch booster and can accommodate warheads in the 100- to 250-pound class, while surface and shipboard launch options are being developed. The company says Rusty Dagger variants have been selected for separate U.S. Army and Navy programmes, including work connected with affordable mass-produced missiles. The precise test date, launch location, performance figures and procurement quantities have not been disclosed.