The US Army is confident that it will be able to take into service the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile with a range of more than 2,700 kilometres by the end of 2023

The US Army is unhappy with delays associated with the development of the LRHW (Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon) hypersonic weapon. Nevertheless, the military service is confident that it will be able to take the new missile into service by the end of this year.

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The US Army wanted to field the LRWH by 30 September 2023, the end of the US fiscal year. However, the cancellation of the launch days before the test had a negative impact on the schedule.

Despite the delay, the US Army is confident that it can be done by the end of calendar year 2023. This statement was made on 9 October by James Mills, deputy director of the Army's hypersonic project office in the Fast Capabilities and Critical Technologies Directorate.

James Mills argues that the U.S. Army has a lot of work to do before the LRHW system can be adopted. However, he also notes that a long way has already been travelled. In a few years, the service has perfected the system's communications and control, which is an important step given the novelty of the weapon.

As for the Dark Eagle missile, it has a maximum range of over 2,700 kilometres and uses the C-HGB (Common-Hysonic Glide Body) warhead. One LRHW battery consists of four launchers that can be transported by C-17 aircraft. The Oshkosh HEMTT A4 M983A4's landing gear is borrowed from Patriot missile defence systems.

Source: Janes