.jpeg)
Despite the original plan to field the system during the government’s fiscal year (FY), the US Army just announced that its DARK EAGLE Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon will be delivered after September, maybe by the end of the calendar year.
The reason for the delay is the cancellation of a critical test of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, as confirmed by Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Doug Bush, during an interview with the national media. Noting the words of the Assistant Secretary, it is clear that the US Army has not completed all the mitigation (of the risks) activities requested by the program which is translated into a lack of confidence regarding the safety of the system. DARK EAGLE is a prototype surface-to-surface, long-range hypersonic weapon system composed of one launcher with 2 missile canisters. The missile is composed of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB - made by the weapon’s warhead, guidance system, cabling, and thermal protection shields) and a two-stage rocket booster developed by the US Navy. It can fly faster than Mach 5 and can quickly maneuver making it difficult to detect and intercept. In accordance with the capability acquisition roadmap, the US Army completed its delivery of the first hypersonic weapon system to I Corps’ 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state by FY21. Since then doubts and confidences have been alternatively raised by US congressmen and military leadership staff regarding the test progress of the system, positions that may easily represent deception for the adversaries, Russia and China, fully involved in the hypersonic capabilities race.
As already reported by RID, the DARK EAGLE is a project being developed jointly with the US Navy considering that it is such a high-end and resource-dragging weapon that it is too costly for one service to take the full burden of its development. The US Army has separately worked with Lockheed Martin only on launchers, trucks, trailers, and the battle operation center necessary to put together the first weapon battery. In the meantime, the US Air Force is still moving forward alone with its Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile, which is being developed in concert with the Australian military through the SCIFiRE agreement, and its ARRW, successfully launched. The DARK EAGLE was supposed to officially enter Army service in the strategic fires battalion of the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, but it requires, before going into service, the successful completion of 3 flight tests, to be done no later than December 2023. Two more batteries were planned for activation in 2025 and 2027.
Despite the original plan to field the system during the government’s fiscal year (FY), the US Army just announced that its DARK EAGLE Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon will be delivered after September, maybe by the end of the calendar year. The reason for the delay is the cancellation of a critical test of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, as confirmed by Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Doug Bush, during an interview with the national media. Noting the words of the Assistant Secretary, it is clear that the US Army has not completed all the mitigation (of the risks) activities requested by the program which is translated in a lack of confidence regarding the safety of the system. DARK EAGLE is a prototype surface-to-surface, long range hypersonic weapon system composed of one launcher with 2 missiles’ canisters. The missile is composed of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB - made by the weapon’s warhead, guidance system, cabling, thermal protection shields) and a two-stage rocket booster developed by the US Navy. It can fly faster than Mach 5 and can quickly maneuver making it difficult to detect and intercept.
In accordance with the capability acquisition roadmap, the US Army completed its delivery of the first hypersonic weapon system to I Corps’ 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state by FY21. Since then doubts and confidences have been alternatively raised by US congressmen and military leadership staff regarding the test progress of the system, positions that may easily represent deception for the adversaries, Russia and China, fully involved in the hypersonic capabilities race. As already reported by RID, the DARK EAGLE is a project being developed jointly with the US Navy considering that it is such a high-end and resource-dragging weapon which is too costly for one service to take the full burden of its development. The US Army has separately worked with Lockheed Martin only on launchers, trucks, trailers, and the battle operation center necessary to put together the first weapon battery. In the meantime, the US Air Force is still moving forward alone with its Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile, which is being developed in concert with the Australian military through the SCIFiRE agreement, and its ARRW, successfully launched. The DARK EAGLE was supposed to officially enter Army service in the strategic fires battalion of the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, but it requires, before going into service, the successful completion of 3 flight tests, to be done no later than December 2023. Two more batteries were planned for activation in 2025 and 2027.
Follow us on Telegram.