Each companies will work towards preliminary design review of the propulsion system required for the weapon before the contract period of performance ends in December next year and each company's preliminary design review works towards a prototype flight test.

US Precision Strike Weapons program manager Captain Richard Gensley said the weapon is expected to allow the US Navy to operate in and control contested battle space in littoral waters and anti-access or area denial environments.

“As threat capability continues to advance, additional range, warfare capability, and capacity is required to address the more demanding threat environment,” he said.

“Our team is leveraging science and technology and rapid prototyping arenas to support aggressive schedule execution.”

The program is part of the Navy’s Long Range Fires investment approach to meet objectives of the National Defense Strategy where hypersonic weapons are a top priority, he said.

The HALO predecessor, the long-range anti-ship missile, is currently fielded on US Navy F/A-18 Hornet and US Air Force B-1B Lancer aircraft. 

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.