Dark Eagle: US bares hypersonic claws at China, Russia

With a thunderous launch, the US Army’s Dark Eagle hypersonic missile has just blazed past years of delays, signaling a bold new surge in America’s race for long-range precision firepower against China and Russia.

This month, The War Zone reported that the US Army successfully test-fired its Dark Eagle hypersonic missile from a trailer-based launcher at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The test marks a significant milestone after years of delays due to launcher issues.

The test, conducted by the US Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) and the US Navy Strategic Systems Programs, involved the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), also known as the common All Up Round (AUR) missile.

The report notes that the missile, which the US Navy plans to deploy on Zumwalt-class destroyers and Block V Virginia-class submarines, achieved hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 5.

The War Zone says that various aircraft, including NASA’s WB-57F and the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) HALO jets, observed the test, demonstrating the missile’s capability to reach target distances at hypersonic speeds.

The report also notes that US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro highlighted the test’s importance in advancing the US military’s hypersonic capabilities.

The report states this successful launch signifies progress toward fielding the Dark Eagle system, with the first complete LRHW battery expected by fiscal year 2025. It adds that developing hypersonic weapons is crucial for maintaining US military superiority, particularly in potential conflicts in the Pacific.

As the US Army transitions from drawn-out counterinsurgency missions in the Middle East to countering Russia in Europe and China in the Pacific, it faces the daunting task of reinventing itself to address the near-peer challenges. Capabilities providing long-range precision fires (LRPF), such as LRHW, are critical to this transformation.

The US Army’s push for LRPF capabilities, notably hypersonic weapons, is driven by the need to counter adversaries like China and Russia, who have developed advanced anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems. These capabilities allow for standoff strikes beyond the range of these systems.

In the Pacific, Asia Times has reported that the US is building a missile wall across the Pacific to counter China’s military rise, focusing on LRPF from land-based missile systems like the Typhon.

Capable of launching Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles with ranges from 500 to 1,800 kilometers, the Typhon bridges a gap between the shorter-range Precision Strike Missile (482 kilometers) and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (2,776 kilometers).

The initiative seeks to establish a network of missile launch sites in the First Island Chain, encompassing Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines, to reinforce counter-A2/AD capabilities vis-à-vis China.

However, the plan faces significant hurdles, particularly ally resistance to hosting US missile systems. While Japan appears most willing, other nations, including the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea, are wary of possible political backlash and economic retaliation from China.

Despite these challenges, the US has begun stationing Typhon launchers in the Philippines, albeit under the guise of training exercises, to avoid triggering regional escalations. This approach reflects a shift toward a “lily pad” strategy of rotational, scalable force deployments rather than fixed bases.

Critics argue the initiative risks destabilizing the Pacific by provoking a missile arms race with China, whose formidable missile arsenal, including the DF-26 “Guam Killer,” underscores the growing intensity of the US-China strategic rivalry.

Apart from building a Pacific missile wall, Asia Times mentioned this month that the US Navy is transforming the USS Zumwalt, a US$4 billion guided-missile destroyer, into a hypersonic weapon platform to counter China’s growing naval capabilities.

The ship is being retrofitted with missile tubes to replace its inactive gun system, enabling it to launch hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) at seven to eight times the speed of sound.

This modernization effort, part of the US Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) program developed with the US Army, aims to enhance the Zumwalt’s operational utility by allowing fast, precision strikes from greater distances.

The initiative reflects the urgent need to address rising threats from China’s Type 055 cruisers and Russia’s tactical nuclear-armed vessels. Despite Zumwalt’s advanced technologies, including electric propulsion and stealth design, the class has faced criticism for its high costs and potential vulnerabilities.

The US Navy plans to test the hypersonic system aboard the Zumwalt by 2027 or 2028. The move is part of a broader strategy to maintain naval superiority amid delays and cost overruns in other programs.

However, a US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report this month mentions several critical challenges for the US in developing, producing, testing and deploying hypersonic weapons.

According to the report, one significant hurdle is technological complexity as hypersonic systems require cutting-edge materials that can withstand extreme temperatures and pressures. Manufacturing these advanced materials at scale poses production bottlenecks.

The CRS report states that the precision required for aerodynamic shaping and integrating guidance, navigation and control systems represent further complications.

Additionally, it mentions that testing constraints have hindered progress. Hypersonic flight tests are costly, logistically complex, and limited by the availability of specialized test ranges and facilities. This bottleneck restricts the pace of development and the ability to iterate designs.

Further, the CRS report says these weapons must be integrated into existing military infrastructure, requiring storage, handling, and launch system modifications. It points out that delays in these areas have pushed back deployment timelines further.

The report also mentions that budgetary and bureaucratic hurdles have compounded the technical and logistical challenges, as funding approvals and interagency coordination have caused slow decision-making. Collectively, these factors create a protracted timeline for the operational deployment of US hypersonic capabilities.

In contrast to the US, Josh Luckenbaugh mentions in a July 2024 article for National Defense Magazine that China’s lead in hypersonic weapons development is due to its focused investment over the past two decades in infrastructure for developing and testing these systems.

Luckenbaugh highlights China’s extensive research and development infrastructure, including numerous wind tunnels dedicated to hypersonic systems. He contrasts this by noting that US facilities and expertise have degraded since the Cold War, with most testing capabilities now in academia.

While Luckenbaugh mentions efforts are underway to rebuild this expertise through collaborations between academia and the US Department of Defense (DOD), the US, to date, has yet to deploy a single hypersonic weapon.