THE US is developing new cruise missiles which will be able to communicate with each other allowing them to “swarm” on enemies like insects.

Defence firm Lockheed Martin has been awarded the £81million contract to create the “affordable” version of the subsonic rockets.

1 The new Gray Wolf missiles will swarm on enemies like insects Credit: Lockheed Martin

The five-year project was handed to the weapons company by the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).

While the missiles, named Gray Wolf, will be tested by F-16 fighter jets, the US military hopes to adapt them for other types of war planes as well.

Lockheed Martin said the rockets will be able to network with each other allowing them to swoop on enemy targets.

Hady Mourad, director of the missile development programme, said the first of four test stages will completed by 2019.

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Mourad said: “Lockheed Martin’s concept for the Gray Wolf Missile will be an affordable, counter-IAD missile that will operate efficiently in highly contested environments.

“Using the capabilities envisioned for later spirals, our system is being designed to maximise modularity, allowing our customer to incorporate advanced technologies such as more lethal warheads or more fuel-efficient engines, when those systems become available.”

The firm is already developing a supersonic spy plane for the US which will be able to hit any target around the globe in under 60 minutes.

The craft named SR-72, which will have a top speed of around 4,600mph, is an upgrade on the SR-71 Blackbird which was retired in 1998.

Earlier this year, Brad Leland from Lockheed Martin, said: “Hypersonic aircraft, coupled with hypersonic missiles, could penetrate denied airspace and strike at nearly any location across a continent in less than an hour.

"Speed is the next aviation advancement to counter emerging threats in the next several decades.

"The technology would be a game-changer in theatre, similar to how stealth is changing the battlespace today."

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