Beset with delays and technical troubles, the US Military’s Darkish Eagle hypersonic missile is predicted to characteristic an extended vary and a extra deadly warhead than beforehand anticipated.
This was disclosed on December 12, 2025, when the US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth visited Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, to preside over the official designation ceremony for the brand new everlasting headquarters of the US House Command (SPACECOM).
It was a managed media occasion recorded by C-SPAN and different native media retailers.
Hegseth’s tour of Military amenities supplied an opportunity for casual briefings by senior Military commanders from the Fast Capabilities and Essential Applied sciences Workplace (RCCTO) on ongoing applications, such because the long-awaited Lengthy-Vary Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), which was named ‘Darkish Eagle’ in April 2025.
Darkish Eagle is a trailer-launched hypersonic boost-glide automobile system with a said pace of Mach 17, as already broadly identified. The weapon system, poised to change into the primary American hypersonic weapon to attain operational functionality, additionally has a naval variant often called the Intermediate Vary Typical Immediate Strike (IRCPS), which is deliberate for deployment aboard the Zumwalt-class warships.
Lt. Gen. Francisco Lozano, Director of Hypersonic, Directed Vitality, House, and Fast Acquisition, knowledgeable Hegseth that Darkish Eagle’s vary is 3,500 kilometres.
This represents a major improve over the beforehand reported vary of two,776 kilometres and would doubtless allow the US Military to launch hypersonic strikes on high-value targets inside China from ahead US bases, corresponding to these in Okinawa, Japan, within the occasion of a possible Taiwan contingency.
Presently, there isn’t any info on whether or not the vary has been prolonged because the weapon has matured, or whether or not the Pentagon intentionally withheld the precise figures for safety causes up to now. Moreover, there isn’t any readability on whether or not the Navy’s variant has an identical vary.
One other main disclosure was made by an unidentified Military officer who mentioned the Darkish Eagle has a warhead “underneath 30 kilos.”
This took many unexpectedly, provided that the scale is comparatively modest for a long-range weapon. The officer additional defined that the warhead’s sole objective was to launch its “projectiles,” which might then influence an space the scale of the parking zone they have been standing in.
The design of this missile system basically depends on the hypersonic glide automobile’s excessive pace and precision manoeuvring to ship a damaging influence via kinetic drive somewhat than a big explosive payload, decreasing dimension and weight for higher booster compatibility. Nevertheless, the officer additionally famous {that a} blast fragmentation warhead would assist in rendering softer targets, corresponding to radar installations and air defence batteries, inoperable.
The system can cowl its full vary in underneath 20 minutes, the officer added. This could permit speedy response in contested environments.
Notably, the kinetic vitality warhead doubtless addresses longstanding Pentagon skepticism about Darkish Eagle’s battlefield effectiveness, significantly its lethality in opposition to hardened or defended targets. The FY2024 Annual Report from the Director of Operational Check and Analysis (DOT&E), launched in early 2025, said there was “inadequate information” to evaluate the system’s operational effectiveness, lethality, suitability, and survivability.
The Military has confronted a number of technical challenges which have delayed the missile’s improvement. The truth is, early flight assessments, together with the end-to-end December 2024 testing, demonstrated glide and vary however not built-in kill-chain efficiency in opposition to “threat-representative” situations.
These considerations have been echoed in a number of congressional briefings and GAO (Normal Accountability Workplace) audits.
Nevertheless, this system has been accelerating. A battery of Darkish Eagle is presently based mostly with the first MDTF in Washington and the third MDTF in Hawaii, with plans to forward-base within the Indo-Pacific or Europe.
Moreover, the weapon system was deployed in Australia throughout the Talisman Sabre navy drills, marking the primary abroad deployment of the delicate system.
Nevertheless, the system has not but achieved full operational functionality (FOC).
The Military hoped to have the weapon system operational by the top of this monetary yr. It’s unclear the place that schedule stands for the time being, however the launch of this new info suggests the Pentagon is poised to declare the system operational quickly.
The Darkish Eagle Is Coming
The operationalization of the Darkish Eagle weapon system could be a giant milestone for the USA, which has been enjoying catch-up with its rivals and adversaries within the hypersonic race.
The first US adversary on the earth, China, has arguably emerged because the world chief in hypersonic capabilities. No less than two further hypersonic weapons emerged within the final yr—the DF-27 and an air-launched variant of the YJ-21, respectively.
U.S.-China Warfare: Leaked Pentagon Report Says USA Would Lose “Each Time” With out Main Reforms
In the meantime, Russia has already used two of its hypersonic weapons—the Kinzhal and Zircon—in fight in opposition to the Ukrainian forces. By the way, even nations which can be thought of rogue, like Iran and North Korea, are alleged to have operational hypersonic weapons.
The Darkish Eagle shall be essential within the occasion of a battle with China, which is (theoretically) all the time a chance because of the impending invasion of Taiwan.
China has been pursuing an anti-access, area-denial technique with missiles directed at ships and plane within the South China Sea and close to Taiwan.
The Darkish Eagle will give the US Military a long-range, strategic assault capability to have interaction time-sensitive targets, scale back enemy air defences, and defeat Chinese language anti-access/space denial (A2/AD) methods.
The weapon system has change into way more lethal because of the upgraded warhead and prolonged vary.
A Darkish Eagle battery includes 4 trailer-based launchers, every of which accommodates two canister missiles. These launchers are transported on M870 trailers, towed by eight-wheeled M983A4 HEMTT tractor-trailer vans.
As well as, a six-wheeled command automobile serves because the Battery Operations Middle, supervising the Darkish Eagle system’s operations.
The unpowered hypersonic boost-glide automobile perched on a rocket booster is one in all Darkish Eagle’s distinctive design components. The rocket booster elevates the conical hypersonic automobile to the specified top and pace earlier than launch. After that, it drops alongside a brief, atmospheric flight path at hypersonic speeds—that’s, any pace better than Mach 5.
This truck-launched, land-based weapon can launch hypersonic missiles at speeds over 3,800 miles per hour. These missiles swiftly land on their targets, giving adversaries little time to react, by rising to the excessive reaches of the Earth’s ambiance and staying simply out of vary of typical air and missile defence methods.
The missile is optimized for exact strikes and is constructed to hold a standard warhead. The missile is designed to be road-mobile for fast deployment and resistance to hostile focusing on. It may be rapidly transported aboard the C-17 for international attain.
With refined thermal safety mechanisms, it will possibly endure intense warmth (1000’s of levels) throughout hypersonic flight.
The weapon system can function throughout the Military’s Built-in Air and Missile Defence Battle Command System (IBCS), which implies it will possibly combine with the Military, Navy, and Air Power, in addition to with allied companions, for synchronized strikes throughout domains.
U.S. Abrams Tanks Get “Kamikaze Punch”; GDLS Unveils Switchblade Drone Launcher For BLOS Strikes
Leave a Reply