US reaches major hypersonic weapon milestone
The United States reached a historic milestone in the contested development of hypersonic weapons as a new long-range missile system was deployed overseas for the first time.
The deployment of the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) was part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, a multinational war game hosted by Australia in July, during which the U.S. conducted a live-fire drill with its Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system.
Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Army for further comment via email.
A hypersonic weapon is capable of flying at Mach 5 or faster, more than five times the speed of sound. Unlike ballistic missiles, which follow a predictable trajectory, this type of superfast and novel weapon can maneuver during flight, making it difficult to intercept.
Both of the U.S.'s major rivals—Russia and China—and regional adversaries such as North Korea and Iran have said they have developed and deployed hypersonic missiles. An expert previously told Newsweek that "nobody wants to drop out" of this arms race.
Facing the rapidly growing threat of hypersonic weapons, the U.S. military is enhancing its defense posture, including upgrades to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense radar for tracking hypersonic missiles and conducting simulated intercept tests.
he U.S. Army Pacific Public Affairs Office said on Saturday that one of its units—the Hawaii-based Third Multi-Domain Task Force (3MDTF)—had deployed a LRHW system outside the continental U.S. for the first time, stationing it in Australia's Northern Territory.
The deployment, which seeks to showcase what the Army described as a "game-changing capability," took place as early as July 9 and involved at least two missile launchers at an undisclosed location in the Northern Territory, according to photos released on Saturday.
The LRHW, capable of conducting precision strikes at "long range, leveraging hypersonic speeds," demonstrated the 3MDTF's ability to adapt and innovate in response to evolving security challenges during this deployment, the U.S. Army Pacific said in a news release.
The missile system—dubbed "Dark Eagle"—has a reported range of 1,725 miles, according to a Congressional Research Service report published in June. Each LRHW unit, known as a battery, is equipped with four launchers capable of accommodating a total of eight missiles.
This land-based weapon system serves as a "strategic attack weapon system" designed to defeat anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, suppress adversary long-range fires, and engage other high-payoff or time-critical targets, the report further noted, citing the Army.
A2/AD capabilities prevent or restrict an enemy from entering and operating within an area. China is regarded as possessing the world's most sophisticated A2/AD network as Beijing warns against foreign interference over Taiwan, which it considers its "breakaway province."
The LRHW, the 1,000-mile-range MRC, and the 310-mile-plus-range Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) are all part of the U.S. Army's effort to counter A2/AD networks. The PrSM also featured in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, where it was fired by the Australian army.