Lockheed Martin has received funding for ground support of the hypersonic LRHW weapon with the Dark Eagle missile

Lockheed Martin has received money to provide ground support for the US Army's hypersonic weapons system. This was announced on the Pentagon's website.

Here's What We Know

We are talking about a weapon called Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW). The system uses the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile. The U.S. Army has attempted a test launch twice this year, but has never succeeded.

The contract is valued at nearly $104.7 million. Work will take place at Lockheed Martin's Alabama facility until 28 February 2028.

The LRWH battery is deployed in the state of Florida. The US Army attempted to launch the Dark Eagle missile in early September, but the launch was delayed following preliminary inspections announced by the Pentagon's Office of the Chief of Staff.

The US military believes that despite the cancellation, it was able to gather important data for the development of hypersonic weapons. However, it is currently unknown what impact the delay will have on the LRHW deployment schedule.

The Dark Eagle hypersonic missile has a Common-Hysonic Glide Body (C-HGB) warhead. Official US Army documents say it can reach a speed of Mach 4.9 rather than Mach 5, i.e. about 6050 km/h. The maximum launch range is nearly 2,800 kilometres.

Source: Pentagon