US Army's Dark Eagle Hypersonic Missile: What's Its Range And Top Speed?

A major focus in missile development of the 21st century has been hypersonic research. Hypersonic flight is achieved when an object surpasses Mach 5 (3,836 mph), and getting it right is the Holy Grail in modern missile development. This is because objects moving faster than Mach 5 are almost impossible to intercept, making such missiles incredibly deadly. While Russia currently has the fastest hypersonic missile in the world, the United States Army is fielding its own high-speed version.

It was once known as the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), but has since received the official Dark Eagle designation. It's classified as an intermediate-range surface-to-surface boost-glide hypersonic weapon. That's a mouthful, but it essentially means the Dark Eagle is a fast-moving artillery weapon capable of traveling faster than Mach 5 with a range of 1,725 miles.

The Army successfully tested the missile in April 2025. However, many of the details are confidential at the moment. What is known is that the Dark Eagle consists of two parts: the Common Hypersonic Glide Body C-HGB and the missile itself. Once testing is complete and it has proven itself capable of carrying out its prescribed mission, the Dark Eagle will enter the inventory sometime soon, though it blew past its intended 2023 fielding goal.

The Army plans to use the Dark Eagle in an eight-missile battery that will use four modified M983 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT), each of which can carry two missiles in launch canisters. In addition to the Army, the Navy will arm its Zumwalt-class destroyers and Virginia-class submarines with the Dark Eagle. Other countries like China have hypersonic missiles in their military already, so this would mitigate that hypersonic missile gap.

Much about the missile and its systems remain classified, which isn't likely to change anytime soon. The military is notorious for keeping details about its weapons and vehicles, such as how deep a submarine can go, from the general public. So it's possible the Dark Eagle could surpass the reported range of 1,725 miles and speed of Mach 5, but we'd never know. The two manufacturers responsible for developing the Dark Eagle are Lockheed Martin — tasked with building the missile's main booster — and Dynetics — awarded a contract to build the C-HGB.

The missile functions with the main booster carrying the C-HGB to a desired altitude. Once there, the C-HGB releases from the nose and reaches speeds up to and possibly exceeding Mach 5. It then moves toward its target, detonating upon contact. The explosive yield and other elements of the Dark Eagle are unknown. Once fielded, the Dark Eagle should help protect U.S. interests as its adversaries continue to develop their own hypersonic missile technology.