Dark Eagle Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW):
The US Army and Navy recently completed integrated testing of the Dark Eagle Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).
- Dark Eagle Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) is a hypersonic missile system of the United States Army.
- It is a non-nuclear, ground-launched hypersonic missile weapon system.
- The missile component of the LRHW is reportedly being developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
- Built for strategic attack missions, the weapon is capable of penetrating anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) defenses, suppressing long-range enemy fires, and delivering rapid precision effects when and where they are needed.
- It is a land-based hypersonic weapon designed to strike targets at distances of up to 2,735 kilometers.
- It comprises a mobile ground-based battery equipped with Transporter Erector Launchers (TEL), supported by command and control elements.
- The system’s ballistic missile features two stages, one of which includes a hypersonic glide warhead (C-HGB), an unpowered but highly maneuverable vehicle capable of reaching extreme speeds of Mach 17, making interception particularly difficult.
- The missile climbs to the edge of space, flies through the upper atmosphere out of reach of most enemy defenses, then maneuvers toward its target.
- Each hypersonic missile is powered by a solid-fueled two-stage rocket booster.
