General Francisco Lozano, director of hypersonic weapons and directed energy for the U.S. Army, reported last weekend to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile can reach a range of 3,500 km—sufficient to strike targets in China if launched from Guam.
U.S. officials had previously claimed that Dark Eagle had a minimum range of 2,775 km. It remains unclear whether the figure cited by General Lozano reflects technological advances during development and testing, or whether the U.S. military had deliberately disclosed lower figures in the past.
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By comparison, Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missile has a range of approximately 2,000 km. However, Kinzhal has been used extensively in combat in Ukraine, while Dark Eagle remains under development. A U.S. Army official added that Dark Eagle carries a warhead weighing less than 14 kilograms, relatively small for a long-range weapon and even lighter than the warhead of the AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missile. Nevertheless, the official noted that Dark Eagle’s warhead is designed primarily to disperse fragments, creating a wide-area lethal effect suitable for engaging soft and dispersed targets such as air defense systems.
Dark Eagle is capable of traveling 3,500 km in under 20 minutes, corresponding to a speed of roughly 10,000 km/h. When Secretary Hegseth asked about production progress, officials said the current output stands at one missile per month, with the Army aiming to double that rate. “Rapid production of weapons in large quantities is clearly a priority for Secretary Hegseth, especially as the U.S. faces ammunition supply challenges. Some critics argue that Dark Eagle could end up being a ‘wonder weapon’—produced in too few numbers and at too high a cost to have a significant impact in a prolonged conflict,” said Tyler Rogoway, editor of the U.S. military outlet The War Zone.
The Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), another name for Dark Eagle, consists of a large booster missile carrying an unpowered hypersonic glide vehicle. The booster accelerates the glide vehicle to the required speed and altitude, after which the vehicle dives toward its target at extreme velocity.
The Dark Eagle development program has experienced multiple delays. As of June, the U.S. Army planned to field the missile before fiscal year 2025, though the current status remains unclear. One battery has been deployed at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, with another expected to be deployed later this year.
Dark Eagle could become the first true hypersonic weapon to be operationally deployed by the United States, which currently lags behind rivals such as Russia and China in this field.
The U.S. Air Force previously canceled the AGM-183A hypersonic missile program after repeated test failures, before announcing earlier this year that it would revive the project. The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) program has also faced multiple delays and is now expected to conduct its first test launch in fiscal year 2026.