US Army Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon: Programme status

The US Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon system conducted its first overseas deployment in July 2025. Participation in Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 in Australia marked a milestone toward the fielding decision.

The Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) is a mobile ground-to-ground hypersonic glide weapon expected to achieve a range in excess of 2,775 km and a minimum speed of Mach 5. It is intended to defeat anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, suppress adversary long-range fires, and engage other high-payoff, time-critical targets. While the Army’s developmental hypersonic weapon has been referred to as ‘Dark Eagle’ for some time, the service officially designated the LRHW as such on 24 April 2025. “Part of the name pays tribute to the eagle – a master hunter known for its speed, stealth and agility – due to the LRHW’s combination of velocity, accuracy, manoeuvrability, survivability and versatility,” the Army wrote in a press release, adding, “the word ‘dark’ embodies the LRHW’s ability to dis-integrate adversary capabilities.”

The core weapon consists of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) developed by Dynetics Inc. (combining the warhead, guidance system, cabling, and thermal shielding) paired with a two-stage booster rocket to form the vertical-launch All Up Round (AUR). Both the US Army and the US Navy will utilise the AUR, with the Navy planning to deploy its Conventional Prompt Strike variant at sea. Lockheed Martin is acting as systems integrator for the Army’s ground-based Dark Eagle variant, which will deploy in launch canisters mounted on mobile transporter-erector launchers (TELs). Each TEL will carry two AURs, with four TELs, plus the mobile Battery Operations Center (BOC) and a BOC support vehicle, forming a battery. Current plans call for one LRHW battery to be assigned to each of the service’s five multi-domain task force (MDTF) formations. The LRHW battery will be incorporated into the task force’s long-range fires battalion (LRFB).

End-to-end flight tests

LRHW development was initiated in 2019 as a prototyping effort to equip one battery for evaluation purposes. Following a successful critical design review in December 2020, the Army initiated a Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) rapid fielding effort to acquire an additional two battery sets. Technical issues significantly delayed the flight-testing programme which was the prerequisite for operational certification of the Dark Eagle prototypes. All flight tests scheduled during 2022 and 2023 either failed or had to be aborted. Following an in-depth review, the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) concentrated on risk-mitigation and developmental testing of subcomponents and ground support equipment during the first part of 2024.

Satisfied that the technical issues responsible for previous failures had been addressed, the service resumed flight testing mid-year. On 28 June 2024 the Department of Defense (DoD) conducted the first successful end-to-end flight test of the AUR. The missile, to be used by both the Navy and Army, was launched from a ground stand at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The Pentagon confirmed that the weapon followed the intended course and released the CHGB, which reached the designated target in the Marshall Islands some 3,200 km from the launch site. While the test provided data on the performance of the actual missile, it did not include any Army-specific ground equipment such as launch canisters, TELs or control vehicles.

The Army-specific test was conducted on 12 December 2024 with a successful end-to-end flight test of the AUR conducted from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This was the first live-fire event for the LRHW system using a Battery Operations Center and a Transporter Erector Launcher. The Pentagon did not specify the precise target zone or the distance the missile covered, but on the day of the test temporary flight restrictions and advisories to mariners were posted for hazard areas extending southeast over the Atlantic from the Florida coast. “This test builds on several flight tests in which the CHGB achieved hypersonic speed at target distances and demonstrates that we can put this capability in the hands of the warfighter,” said then-Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth at the conclusion of the event.

First unit selection

The successful end-to-end flight tests of 2024 established the basis for operational certification of the LRHW prototypes. Following certification the Army, as anticipated, authorised Lockheed Martin to resume assembly of AURs for distribution to the first operational battery.

According to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) Weapons System Annual Assessment (published in June 2025), production of a full battery set of eight hypersonic missiles was expected to take 11 months. On 2 April 2025, Defense News cited Major General Francisco Lozano, US Army PEO Missiles and Space, as predicting delivery of the first missile to the first battery in May 2025. The missiles would continue to be delivered to the unit one-by-one as they are assembled, Lozano said.

The First Multi-Domain Task Force (1MDTF) situated on Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state was the first such unit to stand up a LRHW battery, namely B Battery of the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment; the 5th Bn 3rd FA functions as the 1MDTF’s Long Range Fires Battalion. The battalion and the Dark Eagle battery are co-located with the task force headquarters at JBLM.

In 2021, B battery received the full LRHW equipment set – minus the AURs – in order to develop and practice operating procedures. Using the LRHW ground support equipment, the 1MDTF participated in various named and joint exercises, demonstrating the ability to fully integrate into operational command and control systems at various echelons. The LRHW battery marked a first milestone in February 2023 by airlifting 5,000 km from JBLM to Cape Canaveral, Florida, demonstrating the capacity for rapid deployment and being operational soon after arrival. In August 2024, the battery participated in the US Air Force’s Exercise Bamboo Eagle to test interoperability between Army long-range fires and Air Force operations, as well as validating joint tactics, techniques, and procedures for employing hypersonic fires in a theatre-level engagement.

First overseas deployment – Talisman Sabre 2025

In July 2025, the Hawaii-based 3rd MDTF participated in exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 (TF25) in Australia. That task force has not yet established its own LRFB or a LRHW battery, so it deployed with the 1MDTF’s B Bty, 5th Bn, 3rd FA. At least two TELs and the BOC were airlifted by C-17 to Australia’s Northern Territory. This was explicitly described as the first ever ‘operational employment’ of the LRHW outside the continental United States. The Pentagon’s press releases did not indicate whether or not live missiles were brought to Australia. It would seem doubtful, given the small inventory and the ongoing efforts to field the first full complement. In any case, no LRHWs were launched. US military statements and reports emphasised that the unit’s participation demonstrated the capability to operate globally and integrate with allied forces. “The deployment of the LRHW system to Australia marks a significant achievement for US Indo-Pacific Command, as it validates the Army’s ability to deploy, position, and exercise command and control (C2) of the system in a forward environment,” said Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “The exercise demonstrates the Combatant Command’s capacity to project power and support the defence of Australia, a key ally in the region.”

Fielding plans

In early September 2025 a spokesman for the Army Materiel Command (AMC) confirmed to ESD that the Army remains on track to field the first LRHW battery by the end of the calendar year. For security reasons, the Army declined to disclose the specific units selected to receive the LRHW capability. To date, it has been presumed that B Bty, 5th Bn, 3rd FA – which has spent the past four years testing and exercising with the support equipment – would be the first unit declared operational. The fact that the 1MDTF is the only Multi-Domain Task Force with an operational LRFB underscores the central role of B Bty, 5th Bn, 3rd FA. Of course, that battery could always be reflagged and transferred to a different task force to meet pressing operational priorities, but this seems impractical until another MDTF stands up a LRFB.

The next two LRHW batteries are widely expected to be established with the 2MDTF headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany and with the 3MDTF headquartered at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Both task forces are still in the process of standing up their LRFBs, which will not be co-located with the unit headquarters. In March 2025, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) cited the Army’s updated MDTF Alignment and Stationing plan which calls for the 2MDTF’s LRFB to be established at Fort Drum in New York State during FY2026. The same CRS report stated that the Hawaii-based 3MDTF will station its LRFB (as well as a sustainment battalion) at JBLM, co-located with the 1MDTF. On 14 March 2025, Inside Defense cited the 3MDTF’s then commander, Brig Gen Michael Rose, as stating that the unit would stand up its long-range fires battalion over the next 12 to 18 months (so, during FY2026), as part of a “sizeable amount of growth” for the task force.

While these figures do not specify that the Dark Eagle battery of each long range fires battalion will be fielded concomitantly with the LRFB’s establishment, other government documents confirm that both the second and the third LRFW battery are expected to be equipped and operational by FY2027. Specifically, the GAO’s Weapon Systems Annual Assessment 2025 cites LRHW programme officials stating that the second battery, which is part of the rapid fielding MTA effort, remains on schedule for fielding in the 4th Quarter of FY2026. The Army FY2026 Budget Justification Book dated February 2025 shows funding and delivery phasing for Battery 3 across FY 2026-2027. Notably, it remains unclear when in the course of this fielding cycle the Army will actually declare Initial Operational Capability (IOC). “IOC criteria and timing remain under senior-leader review and will be announced when decisions are complete. IOC will not be associated with a delivery milestone,” the AMC spokesperson told ESD.

Procurement going forward

Following completed equipment of the second and third batteries, the MTA rapid acquisition track of the LRHW programme will formally close by Q4 of FY2028, according to GAO data. The Army anticipates continued procurement to equip two additional LRHW batteries after Battery 3, in tandem with the planned formation of the fourth and fifth MDTFs in FY2027 and FY2028, respectively.

To date, the Army has not provided a specific number of missiles it ultimately wants in the inventory. While the Army is expected to preserve the LRHW for exceptionally high-value targets, it will need to provide for sufficient reloads to make deployments to war zones viable. With the Navy introducing its version of the hypersonic missile on the Zumwalt Class destroyers by FY 2027 and subsequently on the Virginia class attack submarines, Lockheed Martin Space will be ramping up production of the joint missiles, which is expected to bring the unit cost down from the current USD 41 million, to the benefit of both the Navy and the Army. On 1 June 2025, the firm was awarded a USD 1 billion cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee unpriced letter contract modification to support the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike programme, underscoring the Pentagon’s commitment to the hypersonic weapon capability. That being said, both US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff General Randy George testified to Congress on 4 and 5 June 2025 that the Army was actively seeking to acquire more affordable ground-launched hypersonic weapons that would provide deeper magazines. While such aspirational weapon systems may not match the full capabilities profile of the LRHW, they could hold significant enemy assets at risk while retaining Dark Eagle as a niche capability against the most challenging targets.

Continued development and testing

Lessons learned from the end-to-end flight tests in 2024 and from the operational evaluation by B Bty, 5th Bn, 3rd FA are guiding final adjustments to the design. According to the GAO’s 2025 Assessment, fielding the second battery will involve a missile with minor modifications. Flight tests of the modified weapon are to begin in the fourth quarter of FY2025.

Programme officials have also informed the CRS as well as news outlets regarding plans for further LRHW flight tests, although the number and timing of these tests will be influenced by missile cost and the sufficiency of test ranges. In that vein, Defense News cited General Lozano on 2 April 2025 as saying that the Army had scheduled the next test launch of the LRHW system in December 2025. “We’re trying to be efficient,” Lozano said, citing the “very expensive” nature of the missiles. On 8 August 2025, Newsweek quoted a US Army source as confirming that “as of mid-2025, testing continues, with the Master Test Strategy projecting activity through fiscal year 2026”.

Still ahead of the game

The LRHW prototyping effort was formally initiated in 2019. The Army originally hoped that the fast-tracked project would lead to fielding at least a limited operational capability weapon system by late FY2023, after a good four years of R&D. If all goes as planned, that goal will be met in late 2025, circa two years later than planned. However, the Pentagon is taking a ‘glass half full’ position, pointing out that missile development programmes normally take around ten years. In that light, LRHW can indeed be seen as ahead of the statistical curve.

Sidney E. Dean