Lockheed Martin has adapted the Mako hypersonic missile to most US fighter jets and disclosed some of its parameters.

The news was published on the company’s website.

Lockheed said that it had taken 7 years to develop a new generation of missiles for the company, which was actually not so long for hypersonic weapons systems, especially such compact ones as Mako.

The new missile, with a length of 3.6 meters and a diameter of 33 cm, weighs about 590 kilograms. It is compact enough to be integrated into the internal weapon bays of the F-22 and F-35 5th generation fighters. The latter can carry up to 6 missiles at internal and external hardpoints.

The prototype has also undergone physical testing and trial integration into a number of other US aircraft, including the F/A-18, F-16, F-15, and even the P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft.

Mako is equipped with a solid rocket motor that can accelerate the missile to Mach 5. According to the statements, the missile can reach this speed at high altitudes, where it can maneuver.

The company does not disclose other flight characteristics of the missile, limiting itself to an abstract statement about the possibility of using Mako from a safe distance for aircraft.

The missile has a modular design with interchangeable 60-kilogram warheads and a homing system. The process of integrating new modules into the missile is simplified due to the fully digital architecture of the system.

The missile is multi-purpose and can be used for ground strikes, destruction of ships and enemy air defense systems.

To reduce time and financial costs, the company makes extensive use of components and assemblies from off-the-shelf systems to produce the Mako.

Lockheed also practices additive manufacturing using additive production to produce key components, which significantly saves time and money. In the case of the Mako, engineers used this approach to produce the homing head fairing and steering surfaces.

In May of this year, another American company, Northrop Grumman, together with Raytheon Technologies, presented a model of the future Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) hypersonic missile interceptor.