CBS News has scheduled a Sept. 13 “Sunday Morning” cover story on missile production that lists CoAspire, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris and a CSIS analyst as related sources. The preview is evidence of an upcoming report—not evidence that the program has aired, that each listed company appears in it, or that the separate FAMM framework agreements have converted into full production awards.
By Land Offset PAI
Sept. 12, 2026
WASHINGTON — CBS News has previewed a Sept. 13 CBS News Sunday Morning cover story, “Missile crisis — The hard truths about America’s military arsenal,” in which national-security correspondent David Martin visits plants that are ramping up production to replenish U.S. missile stocks. The network says the broadcast will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with streaming on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. 1
The preview lists Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, L3Harris, CoAspire and Center for Strategic and International Studies senior adviser Mark Cancian in its “For more info” section. 1 That identifies organizations relevant to the forthcoming segment. It does not establish that every listed company was filmed, interviewed, visited by CBS or discussed in the final broadcast. The segment has not aired at the time of publication.
CoAspire’s inclusion is timely because the Virginia company is one of three firms named in the Department of War’s July framework agreements for the Air Force’s Family of Affordable Mass Missiles, or FAMM, program. The government describes the agreements as a testing, qualification and competitive-selection pathway for low-cost, air-launched cruise missiles. It says seven-year multiyear agreements will be awarded only after successful validation and competitive selection, and only subject to the necessary congressional authorization and appropriations. 2
The central distinction is consequential: CBS has previewed a report about the national missile-production problem; the Department of War has announced a potential production pathway; and CoAspire has reported its own missile-development and manufacturing milestones. None of these public materials alone proves that FAMM weapons are already being bought at their contemplated scale, that a particular CoAspire production run has been ordered under FAMM, or that the CBS story will resolve those unanswered questions.
What CBS has actually announced
CBS describes the forthcoming report as an examination of the pressure on U.S. missile inventories and the time and capital required to replenish them. The preview states that the United States has expended thousands of long-range, precision-guided missiles during a conflict with Iran and that the Pentagon has directed industry toward a “wartime footing.” It says rebuilding the arsenal will cost billions of dollars and require years of manufacturing. 1
Those are CBS’s preview statements, not a published transcript, documentary record or public inventory assessment. CBS has not yet released the full segment, an interview list, a facility list, footage, a breakdown of missile types, stockpile figures, production-rate data, or the reporting sources behind its broader characterization. The citation list is therefore useful context but not a substitute for the broadcast itself.
| Public source | What it supports | What it does not support |
|---|---|---|
| CBS preview | A David Martin report on missile production is scheduled for the Sept. 13 broadcast; CoAspire, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris and Mark Cancian are listed as related resources. 1 | That the program has aired, that each company appears on screen, or that CBS independently verified every production claim associated with them. |
| Department of War FAMM release | Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5 entered framework agreements to complete testing and qualification of low-cost, air-launched cruise missiles. 2 | A completed multiyear production award, delivery quantity, obligated funding amount, awardee production share or fielded FAMM inventory. |
| CoAspire’s July statement | CoAspire says RAACM is its FAMM candidate and that earlier developmental work includes aircraft integration and flight testing. 3 | Government verification of all company performance, schedule, cost and production assertions. |
| CoAspire website | The company says RAACM is in full-rate production at a Manassas, Virginia, facility. 4 | The customer, quantity, contract, rate, program relationship, acceptance status or public funding basis for that claimed production. |
The scheduled report may add evidence once aired. Until then, treating a program preview as a completed investigation would be premature.
CoAspire’s place in the FAMM program
The Department of War announced on July 15 that Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5 had entered framework agreements to complete testing and qualification for FAMM, a new family of low-cost air-launched cruise missiles. The release describes lugged and palletized variants that will compete in a single combined acquisition. 2
The department says the agreements are intended to combine competition, minimum quantity floors and long-term demand signals if the program proceeds. It says all qualified vendors would receive production shares and could compete for more procurement if they meet schedules, while future vendors could be added. 2
But the sequencing in the official release is explicit. Validation and competitive selection come before the multiyear awards, and congressional authorization and appropriations remain conditions. The agreement is a structured mechanism to get to production; it is not itself proof that the contemplated seven-year procurement has been executed.
| FAMM program element | Official status in the July release | Remaining condition or unknown |
|---|---|---|
| Industry participants | Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5 have framework agreements. 2 | Final competitive selection, individual production shares and future entrants. |
| Technical activity | The agreements are for testing and qualification of low-cost, air-launched cruise missiles. 2 | Successful validation, specific test outcomes and completed qualification. |
| Contracting model | The planned multiyear model uses firm-fixed-price contracting and a minimum quantity floor. 2 | The actual award, quantities, pricing, contract identifiers and obligated funding. |
| Program duration | The department is seeking authority for seven-year multiyear procurement after receiving five-year FAMM authorization in the FY26 NDAA. 2 | FY27 authorization, appropriations and the ultimate procurement schedule. |
| Industrial-base goal | The program is designed to enable multiple production lines and encourage private investment. 2 | Demonstrated sustained output, supplier depth, surge performance and delivery to operational units. |
CoAspire says its FAMM candidate is the Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile, or RAACM. In its July announcement, the company said an Air Force developmental Other Transaction Agreement awarded in late 2025 covered integration and flight testing on Air Force aircraft, and that this work led to the framework-agreement inclusion. 3
The company’s description adds useful product and company context, but it is not equivalent to a government award notice. CoAspire says RAACM variants are designed for air, ground and surface launch roles, and says the baseline system has flown hundreds of miles. 3 Its website further states that RAACM is in full-rate production in Manassas. 4 Neither source provides a contract number, production quantity, rate, delivery schedule, customer identity, award value or public acceptance evidence for that claimed full-rate production.
FAMM is not the same initiative as LCCM
The CBS preview concerns missile production broadly. Its companies and topic intersect with, but should not be collapsed into, every recent affordable-missile initiative. The Department of War’s May announcement created a separate Low-Cost Containerized Missiles, or LCCM, framework involving Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos and Zone 5. It describes LCCM as a ground-launched affordable-cruise-missile effort, with test missiles expected to be procured from all four companies as the assessment phase begins. 5
The government says those LCCM frameworks establish terms for future firm-fixed-price production contracts and position the department to procure more than 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles across the portfolios in three years beginning in 2027. 5 That is an aspiration embedded in a testing-and-assessment structure, not a single announced purchase order for 10,000 systems.
FAMM, by contrast, is the air-launched program covered by the July agreements. The Department of War says the two efforts together are intended to build a broader affordable-missile production base. 2 Clear reporting should identify which program, launch mode, vendor, contract vehicle, funding action and delivery claim is under discussion rather than treating all announcements as one completed missile-production program.
What a broadcast appearance would—and would not—demonstrate
A CBS field report could provide relevant observations about factory investment, component bottlenecks, workforce needs or the gap between a production plan and actual output. If it includes company interviews or facility footage, that could document a specific company’s preparation or current activity. Those facts should be evaluated against the full broadcast and against official contracting records once available.
They would still not automatically establish procurement outcomes. A functioning factory, a development agreement, a framework agreement and a multiyear production contract answer different questions. The distinction is particularly important for new entrants, where the government’s policy objective is often to create incentives for capacity investment before it commits to large recurring buys.
| Claim category | Evidence that would substantiate it | Evidence currently public |
|---|---|---|
| A factory is expanding | Dated facility evidence, capital announcement, workforce data or site reporting. | CBS says Martin visited plants that are ramping production; CoAspire lists a Manassas production facility. 1 4 |
| A product is in full-rate production | A government milestone, production contract, lot quantity, acceptance record or firm rate. | CoAspire’s own website assertion; no supporting public government record identified in the reviewed sources. 4 |
| A program will buy at scale | Authorized and appropriated funding, executed contracts and defined quantities. | FAMM and LCCM frameworks with production pathways and conditions. 2 5 |
| A system has been fielded | Delivery, unit acceptance, operational test or service reporting. | No such FAMM or RAACM fielding evidence is provided by the cited announcements. |
The Sept. 13 CBS report is worth monitoring because public reporting can expose the production constraints behind abstract procurement targets. For now, the defensible conclusion is narrower: CBS has scheduled a missile-production investigation and named CoAspire among relevant resources, while the Department of War’s public FAMM record still describes a conditional testing-and-selection pathway rather than a completed high-volume production award.
References
- David Morgan, “This week on ‘Sunday Morning’ (Sept. 13),” CBS News, updated Sept. 11, 2026. 1
- Department of War, “Department of War Announces Landmark Agreements With New Entrants to Accelerate Low-Cost, Air-Launched Cruise Missiles,” July 15, 2026. 2
- CoAspire, “CoAspire Signed a Major FAMM MYA Framework Agreement with the DoW,” July 15, 2026. 3
- CoAspire, “CoAspire.” 4
- Department of War, “Department of War Enhances Lethal Strike Capacity Through Partnership With New Entrants,” May 13, 2026. 5