US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded Aeon Industrial a $13.8-million contract to develop, test, and begin low-rate production of its Zeus missile system.
The deal covers weapon upgrades, initial safety and certification work, and deliveries under the low-rate initial production phase.
Aeon said the effort will also assess how Zeus can be adapted for additional missions and integrated with other launch platforms.
The award builds on two years of company-funded development and marks the next phase of work under a formal USSOCOM contract.
“Special operators need precision systems that can evolve as quickly as the battlefield does,” Aeon chief strategy officer Dean Love said. “Threats are changing rapidly, and operators can’t wait years for a new weapon system every time the mission changes.”
To expand its engineering and production capacity, Aeon is also developing a manufacturing facility near Austin, Texas. The site is expected to accommodate work on Zeus and the company’s other tactical weapon systems.
Zeus Missile System
Zeus is a modular tactical weapon system designed to provide precision strike capability in a compact form.
Its shoulder-fired version weighs approximately 20 pounds (9.07 kilograms) and measures 30 inches (72 centimeters) long, making it suitable for use in confined and urban environments.
Its modular design allows operators to change the warhead and seeker to suit different targets.
“Zeus was designed around the operator, so the warhead, seeker, and effect can change while the underlying weapon stays the same,” Love said.
The system also uses Aeon’s ODIN targeting software, which the company says can identify and track potential targets. Its features include persistent tracking, target reacquisition after temporary concealment, and software updates in forward locations.
Although the recent contract focuses on the shoulder-fired configuration, Aeon said Zeus can also support vehicle, surface vessel, and drone launches.
