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The US Army has officially designated its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon “Dark Eagle” following the system’s successful end-to-end flight test of the common all-up round last December.
Part of the name pays homage to the eagle, a master hunter renowned for its speed, stealth and agility, reflecting the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon’s (LRHW) blend of velocity, accuracy, manoeuvrability, survivability and versatility.
The bald eagle, as the United States’ national emblem, symbolises independence, strength and freedom. The term “dark” underscores the weapon’s capacity to disintegrate adversary capabilities – from anti-access/area-denial defences and communications networks to long-range fires and other high pay-off, time-critical targets.
Patrick Mason, senior official performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said, “Hypersonic weapons will complicate adversaries’ decision-calculus, strengthening deterrence. Their speed, accuracy and versatility are befitting its new popular name, Dark Eagle.”
The LRHW is being developed by the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office in close partnership with the US Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs. It comprises a ground-launched, two-stage booster and a common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB), capable of speeds exceeding 3,800 mph (over Mach 5) and with an effective range of approximately 1,725 miles (2,775 kilometres).
The system is specifically designed to penetrate and defeat peer adversaries’ anti-access/area-denial networks by engaging high-value, time-sensitive targets at stand-off distances.
Missile boosters are being built by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, while the C-HGB – derived from an Army/Sandia re-entry system – is produced by Dynetics. When combined with its booster and canister, the package is referred to as the Navy-Army All-Up Round plus Canister (AUR+C), enabling both land and sea variants to share a common missile.
The LRHW is organised into batteries, each consisting of four transporter-erector launchers mounted on modified trailers (with two AUR+Cs per launcher), a battery operations centre and support vehicles. The first battery was earmarked for the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, although initial fielding slipped from fiscal year 2023 to 2025 following integration and testing challenges.
Early flight tests were beset by setbacks, including a booster failure in October 2021 and a scrubbed launch in June 2022. The program achieved its first end-to-end success on 28 June 2024 at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, when the two-stage missile and glide body completed a strike over 2,000 miles away.
The December 2024 test at Cape Canaveral marked the first live-fire event using the Army’s full launcher stack and operations centre, clearing the way for the “Dark Eagle” naming announcement.
Dark Eagle is expected to join US Army units by the end of fiscal year 2025, heralding a new era in strategic fires and reinforcing deterrence against near-peer adversaries.
