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Defdex

Missile · Land

Dark Eagle (Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon)

U.S. Army trailer-launched hypersonic boost-glide missile system.

by Lockheed Martin

PrototypeMissileLandMilestoneMar 26, 2026
A Dark Eagle hypersonic missile launching from its ground-based launcher

Photo: U.S. Army photo by Sarah Nelson · Public domain (PD-USGov-Military-Army) · Resized and reencoded as WebP; no additional crop or retouching. Credit retained for factual editorial product coverage.

Milestones20212026
  1. First deliveryFirst prototype battery ground equipment delivered, confirmed
  2. MilestoneJoint Army-Navy common hypersonic missile flight test, confirmed

Ground-launched hypersonic boost-glide weapon that uses the common hypersonic glide body, with Lockheed Martin as prime integrator for the U.S. Army; the Navy is adapting the same missile for sea launch.

Timeline2

  1. First deliveryConfirmed

    First prototype battery ground equipment delivered

    Ground equipment for the first Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon battery, delivered to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

    SourcesU.S. Army

  2. MilestoneConfirmed

    Joint Army-Navy common hypersonic missile flight test

    SourcesU.S. Army

Solid entries are confirmed, outlined reported, dashed estimated or still to come; dotted italic entries are speculative. Dates show only the precision the sources give.

Operators1

  • USUnited States

Sources4

  1. 1.
    Government recordArmy and Navy Continue Tests of Hypersonic Missile

    U.S. Army · Apr 2, 2026 · Supports: System milestone

    “conducted a successful launch of a common hypersonic missile from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on March 26, 2026.”
  2. 2.
    Government recordArmy delivers first hypersonics ground equipment

    U.S. Army · Oct 7, 2021 · Supports: System milestone

    “The first prototype hypersonic hardware was delivered to Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, on Oct. 7, 2021.”
  3. 3.
    NewsNew Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon details emerge

    The War Zone · Supports: System

    “is a trailer-launched hypersonic boost-glide vehicle system that can travel long distances at hypersonic speeds”
  4. 4.
    CompanyHypersonics

    Lockheed Martin · Supports: System

    “LRHW will leverage the common hypersonic glide body and introduce a new class of ultrafast and maneuverable long-range missiles with the ability to launch from ground mobile platforms.”

Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.