Will the US Field Its First Hypersonic Missile This Year?
The US Army plans to deploy its first hypersonic missile battery in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, according to the Government Accountability Office’s annual weapon system assessment. The long-range hypersonic weapon, dubbed “Dark Eagle,” is a ground-launched system designed to engage hostile long-range weapons and high-value, time-critical targets. Its common hypersonic glide body is powered by a two-stage rocket booster developed by the US Navy.
Hypersonic weapons are characterized as maneuvering systems that travel at speeds of Mach 5 or greater and have been on the US military’s wish list since the early 2000s. Those efforts never really got off the ground as the nation focused on the different requirements of the Global War on Terror. The need for such weapons only crystallized after China and Russia both fielded operational hypersonic weapons over the last few years.
The United States’ two most dangerous peer or near-peer adversaries—China and Russia—have multiple hypersonic systems already available, with Russia actively using them in Ukraine. The Russians have been researching hypersonic technology since the 1980s and have a clear lead. They have already employed the Kinzhal “Dagger,” an air-launched maneuvering ballistic missile against........
© The National Interest
