https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated March 27, 2025
The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW):
Dark Eagle
What Is the Army’s Long-Range
Hypersonic Weapon?
The Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW),
also known as Dark Eagle (Figure 1), with a reported range
of 1,725 miles, consists of a ground-launched missile
equipped with a hypersonic glide body and associated
transport, support, and fire control equipment. According to
the Army,
This land-based, truck-launched system is armed
with hypersonic missiles that can travel well over
3,800 miles per hour. They can reach the top of the
Earth’s atmosphere and remain just beyond the
range of air and missile defense systems until they
are ready to strike, and by then it’s too late to react.
Figure 1. Artist Rendition of a Notional LRHW Unit
Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/
a36421213/army-hypersonic-weapon-1700-mile-range/, accessed
November 18, 2021.
The Army further notes,
The LRHW system provides the Army a strategic
attack weapon system to defeat Anti-Access/Area
Denial (A2/AD) capabilities, suppress adversary
long-range fires, and engage other high payoff/time
critical targets. The Army is working closely with
the Navy in the development of the LRHW. LRHW
is comprised of the Common Hypersonic Glide
Body (C-HGB), and the Navy 34.5-inch booster.
LRHW Components
Missile
The missile component of the LRHW is reportedly being
developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
When the hypersonic glide body is attached, it is referred to
as the Navy-Army All Up Round plus Canister (AUR+C).
The missile component serves as the common two-stage
booster for the Army’s LRHW and the Navy’s
Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) system, which can be
fired from both surface vessels and submarines.
Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB)
The C-HGB is reportedly based on the Alternate Re-Entry
System developed by the Army and Sandia National
Laboratories. Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, is currently
under contract to produce C-HGB prototypes for the Army
and Navy. The C-HGB uses a booster rocket motor to
accelerate to well above hypersonic speeds and then
jettisons the expended rocket booster. The C-HGB, which
can travel at Mach 5 or higher on its own, is planned to be
maneuverable, potentially making it more difficult to detect
and intercept.
LRHW Organization and Units
The LRHW is organized into batteries. According to the
Army “a LRHW battery consists of four Transporter
Erector Launchers (TELs) on modified M870A4 trailers,
each equipped with two AUR+Cs (eight in total), one
Battery Operations Center (BOC) for command and control,
and a BOC support vehicle.”
The 5
th
Battalion, 3
rd
Field Artillery Regiment at Joint Base
Lewis-McChord, WA, was designated to operate the first
battery of eight LRHW missiles. The battalion, also referred
to as a Strategic Long-Range Fires battalion, is part of the
Army’s 1
st
Multi Domain Task Force (MDTF), a unit in the
Indo Pacific-oriented I Corps stationed at Joint Base Lewis-
McChord, WA. Other LRHW batteries are planned for
Strategic Long-Range Fires battalions in the remaining
MDTFs scheduled for activation.
LRHW Testing and Program Activities
According to a 2023 Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Study, “U.S. Hypersonic Weapons and Alternatives,”
“Extensive flight testing is necessary to shield hypersonic
missiles’ sensitive electronics, to understand how various
materials perform, and predict aerodynamics at sustained
temperatures as high as 3,000° Fahrenheit.” The Army
originally planned for three flight tests of the LRHW before
the first battery fielding in FY2023. On October 21, 2021,
the booster rocket carrying the C-HGB vehicle reportedly
failed a test flight, resulting in what defense officials
characterized as a “no test” as the C-HGB had no chance to
deploy. Reportedly, a June 2022 test of the entire LRHW
missile also resulted in failure.
Flight Test Delays
In October 2022, it was reported the Department of Defense
(DOD) delayed a scheduled LRHW test in order to “assess
the root cause of the June [2022] failure.” Reportedly, the
delayed test would be rescheduled to the first quarter of
FY2023.
