Recently, the US Army and Navy successfully test-fired hypersonic missiles in Hawaii, providing crucial flight data for the development of the US military’s “Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon” (LRHW) and “Conventional Prompt Strike” (CPS) missiles. This marks a significant milestone in the development of hypersonic missiles for the US military. LRHW, also known as the Dark Eagle, is essentially the same type of missile used in CPS, with the only difference being the launching platform – the former by the Army and the latter by the Navy. If all goes according to plan, these two hypersonic weapons could enter into service by 2025.
The US military’s hypersonic missile development projects primarily include the Air Force’s AGM-183A (ARRW), the Army’s Dark Eagle (LRHW), the Navy’s CPS and HALO, as well as an air-breathing hypersonic missile called HAWC. Currently, the Dark Eagle of the Army and the CPS of the Navy are nearing operational status, along with the Air Force’s AGM-183A.
Both the Army’s Dark Eagle and the Navy’s CPS are composed of two-stage solid fuel boosters, topped with an unpowered Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) warhead. The booster rockets accelerate the missile to hypersonic speeds, reaching altitudes of around 100 kilometers. After separation, the unpowered hypersonic glide body rapidly descends to lower altitudes, maintaining hypersonic speeds as it glides towards the target. It approaches the target at a relatively lower altitude, flying under the cover of air defense and missile defense sensors. The glide body maintains full maneuverability, altering its course as needed to evade detection, evade interception, and utilize terrain for concealment during approach.
The Army’s Dark Eagle system consists of launch batteries. A battery includes one operational command vehicle and four mobile launcher vehicles. The first Dark Eagle battery has been formed and assigned to the Field Artillery, 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, but only the command vehicle and launcher vehicles are present, without the missiles installed yet. On the other hand, the Navy’s CPS is planned to be deployed on Zumwalt-class destroyers in 2025 and is expected to begin deployment on the Virginia-class Batch V submarines around 2029.
On July 4th, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that the latest model of “Island Defense Hypersonic Glide Missile” completed its first test launch in the US in March, followed by a second test on April 7th. The “Island Defense Hypersonic Glide Missile” has been undergoing early production since 2023, with an expected service timeline around 2026 or 2027.
In addition to actively developing hypersonic missiles, the US and Japan are also collaborating on researching missile systems capable of intercepting hypersonic missiles, known as the “Glide Phase Interceptor” (GPI).
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