The Army’s ‘Dark Eagle’ Hypersonic Weapon Summed Up in 4 Words

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A Threat to China: The U.S. Army’s Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon program is advancing rapidly, aiming to counter China’s powerful anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems.

-Designed to travel at Mach 5 and beyond, Dark Eagle uses a two-stage booster and a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) to strike targets up to 2,000 miles away with unpredictable, high-speed maneuvers that evade modern defenses.

-Successfully tested in Hawaii, Dark Eagle is set for deployment with the 5th Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2024. This cutting-edge system will restore American deterrence, offering a significant breakthrough in hypersonic weaponry amid the escalating global arms race.

The US Army Moves Ahead at Full Speed to Build Its “Dark Eagle” Hypersonic Weapon

The global arms race continues as the world seems to be perennially marching toward world war. One weapons system in particular is driving military planners the world over crazy (in terms of having to defend themselves against this system) and making others go ga-ga (thanks to the offensive capabilities of this system) are hypersonic weapons. The interesting bit about hypersonic weapons is that they aren’t actually new. 

Indeed, the United States (and Russia) have researched hypersonics for decades, since the heady days of the Cold War, in fact. 

America is Losing the Race for Hypersonic Weapons

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the breaking of Russian power (at least for a time), one would have assumed that the Americans would have inevitably beaten its rivals in terms of achieving hypersonic weapons dominance.

But the sad fact is that the Russians actually bested the Americans in creating a reliable arsenal of hypersonic weapons that are now being deployed routinely in combat. 

Just behind the Russians are their “frenemies” in China. 

It is the Americans who are in a distant third and struggling to keep up. Unable to make long-range hypersonic weapons work the way that the Russians and Chinese have, lacking any realistic hope of developing countermeasures to these threats (the Chinese are leading the world in the development of hypersonic weapons defense), the Americans have made their ambitions smaller.

During the most recent RIMPAC military exercises in Hawaii, the US tested hypersonic cruise missiles for the first time. 

Meanwhile, the United States Army, long forgotten when it comes to the race for hypersonic weapons, is pioneering its own hypersonic weapons system. Known by the ominous name of “Dark Eagle,” the Army is working alongside with their brothers-and-sisters-in-arms in the Navy (backed by major defense contractors, like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin), to develop a system that can overcome China’s incredible anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems. 

What’s A2/AD?

China leads the world in A2/AD. This is basically a complex network of integrated anti-air, anti-ship, and probably counterspace capabilities arrayed across territories that China contests with its neighbor, such as the South China Sea. From the Chinese mainland, A2/AD networks can be used to form a “bubble” around Taiwan and likely parts of the East China Sea as well. Not only are long-range ballistic missiles integrated into the A2/AD networks, but so too are hypersonic weapons. 

These systems are meant to do one thing: destroy whatever US military power projection elements exist in the Indo-Pacific while keeping possible American military reinforcements over-the-horizon long enough for Chinese forces to run roughshod over the region.

Indeed, the Army’s focus on developing their own Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) platform that can be based outside of the range of China’s A2/AD defensive networks should indicate to readers just how serious of a threat Chinese A2/AD is to the US Navy, Air Force, and Marines—the three branches that will serve as the proverbial tip of the spear in any conflict with China. 

The Army, seeking to muscle in on contested defense dollars (and to prove its worth after subpar showings in America’s Middle East wars), wants to build Dark Star arrays across Pacific territories that it controls to effectively pop those Chinese A2/AD defensive bubbles. 

Once pierced, the A2/AD threat to US power projection will be, if not totally disabled, then certainly mitigated, to the point that the Pentagon could risk sending in their otherwise vulnerable naval and air assets against Chinese forces.

The Specs 

Specifically, the Dark Eagle LRHW is meant to suppress long-range enemy fires and engage high-value targets over distances extending to about 1,725 miles (although tests have shown that it can cover up to 2,000 miles).

That’s an astonishing amount of range. The system itself is composed of a two-stage rocket booster and Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB). 

The booster accelerates the missile into the atmosphere, after which the C-HGB detaches and glides at hypersonic speeds, maneuvering unpredictably all the way down to its target. It is this unpredictable maneuvering that makes hypersonic weapons nearly impossible to defend against—even more so than its extraordinary speeds.

Speaking of extraordinary speed, Army engineers assess that their weapon can achieve Mach 5, utilizing kinetic energy for impact rather than traditional explosive warheads. In terms of workability, an end-to-end flight test from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, was a success.

Many observers speculate that this recent test indicates the program is nearing operational readiness.

In fact, the Army intends to take the system from its developmental phase to full acquisition, with full service projected at some point next year. 

Where Dark Eagle is Going? 

The first operational Dark Eagle battery will be deployed to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, under the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment. If all goes to plan, the project’s success could be a real breakthrough for the US military’s otherwise flailing hypersonic weapons development program. 

From the successful Dark Eagle program, the tech could be spun off for the other branches, notably the Navy, and adapted to work within the context of the branch utilizing it.

Inevitably, the Army could field additional batteries in strategic locations, such as Germany, or Israel, or even possibly Japan.

Once the system is fully operational and it can be mass-produced, some semblance of America’s otherwise lost deterrence can be restored.

About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert 

Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior Editor at 19FortyFive.com and a contributor at Popular Mechanics, consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, The American Spectator, to the National Interest. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.