The Navy and Army launch common hypersonic missile on June 28, 2024. (Defense Department)
WASHINGTON — The Army dubbed its new hypersonic missile the “Dark Eagle,” paying tribute to a U.S. national symbol, as the developing system nears the end of testing.
The land-based, truck-launched weapon has a reported range of more than 1,700 miles. The hypersonic missile is intended to be maneuverable, potentially making it more difficult to detect and intercept. “Eagle” is for the national bird, representing independence, strength and freedom, the Defense Department said Thursday. Meanwhile, “dark” embodies the missile’s long-range firing capability meant to take out enemy targets with the goal of being undetectable.
“The Dark Eagle brings to mind the power and determination of our country and its Army as it represents the spirit and lethality of the Army and Navy’s hypersonic weapon endeavors,” the Defense Department said.
The Dark Eagle has been tested in recent years by the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office and the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, which partnered to field land and sea variants of the hypersonic weapon. Originally, the Army planned to have the first system in the hands of soldiers by late 2023. But from 2021-2023, testing of the Dark Eagle has failed, delaying the deployment of the system to at least September 2025.
The weapon successfully completed at least two end-to-end flight tests in 2024, which evaluate the performance of the system from launch to target engagement. The first successful test was June 2024, with the missile launching from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, according to the Defense Department. A second successful test was announced by the Pentagon in December 2024. The missile was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The Army originally planned for three flight tests before putting it in the hands of soldiers, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog, said in 2024 that with successful flight tests, the initial missiles could be fielded by July 2025. The Defense Department did not say whether the weapon is scheduled for operational fielding in 2025.
The 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., was designated to operate the first Dark Eagle battery of eight missiles. The battalion, also referred to as a strategic long-range fires battalion, is part of the Army’s 1st multi-domain task force, a unit of I Corps also stationed at Lewis-McChord. It was unclear Thursday whether the unit would still be first to receive the Dark Eagle.
