Latest news with #C-HGB
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Army aiming for next hypersonic missile test in December
The U.S. Army has scheduled a test of its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, or LRHW, for December, the service's program executive officer for missiles and space told Defense News in a recent interview. After a lengthy delay as the Army and Navy struggled to test a jointly developed hypersonic glide body capability, the Army said earlier this year that it would field its ground-launched missiles to the first unit by the end of fiscal 2025. In fact, the Army is forecasting that the first unit to get the hypersonic capability will begin receiving the rounds at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, in the May time frame, Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano said. The 1st Multidomain Task Force, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade unit at JBLM received all equipment for the LRHW capability except for the actual live rounds in 2021. The unit was supposed to get the missiles in the fall of 2023 but several aborted test events forced the Army to push back its fielding plans. The Army is working to transition the LRHW program from the Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) to Program Executive Office Missiles & Space, but it won't formally join the portfolio until the first round is delivered, Lozano noted. Lockheed Martin, the lead weapon integrator for the truck-launched capability, is wrapping up work on the first round at its facility in Courtland, Alabama, according to Lozano. Leidos' Dynetics manufactures the common hypersonic glide body that will be supplied to both the Army and Navy versions of the weapon. The Army unit at JBLM will continue to receive rounds as they come off the production line throughout the year. The Army plans to couple a test firing of the round with soldiers from the unit at the console as part of their operational training in December because the rounds are 'very expensive,' Lozano said. 'We're trying to be efficient.' The U.S. is in a race to field the capability and develop systems to defend against hypersonic missiles, as China and Russia are actively developing and testing hypersonic weapons. Hypersonic weapons can fly faster than Mach 5 — or more than 3,836 miles per hour — but their ability to maneuver between varying altitudes sets them apart. Their maneuverability makes them much harder to detect and defeat. The Army conducted a successful end-to-end flight test of its hypersonic missile at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii in May 2024, bringing the initial fielding to the first unit closer to the horizon. The Army and Navy completed another successful all-up round test in December at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, or C-HGB. The test provided additional confidence to move forward with the system, which consists of a weapon's warhead, guidance system, cabling and thermal protection. The Navy's version, dubbed Conventional Prompt Strike, will be launched from ships. While the plan to field the weapon to the Army has taken nearly two years longer than planned, Army officials have been quick to point out that missile development programs typically take about 10 years. The LRHW program is just beyond the five-year mark.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Army to deploy 1st Dark Eagle hypersonic missile, can hit 1,725-mile away at Mach 5
The U.S. Army is set to roll out its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), known informally as Dark Eagle, to its first operational unit by the end of fiscal year 2025, a defense official reportedly confirmed. This announcement comes after considerable delays due to challenges faced during the weapon's testing phases. The LRHW is designed as a strategic weapon with a range of approximately 1,725 miles. This system comprises a ground-launched missile equipped with a hypersonic glide body alongside the necessary transport, support, and fire control equipment. With speeds exceeding 3,800 miles per hour, the missile can soar to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere, evading current air and missile defense systems before delivering its payload with little warning. In its operational capacity, the LRHW aims to counter Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) strategies, neutralize long-range enemy capabilities, and target high-value objectives. The Army's collaboration with the Navy is integral to the LRHW's development, which features the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) and a 34.5-inch booster developed by the naval forces. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are reportedly responsible for developing the missile component of the LRHW. When the hypersonic glide body is attached, it is known as the Navy-Army All-Up Round plus Canister (AUR+C). This missile serves as a common two-stage booster for the Army's LRHW and the Navy's Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) system, allowing for its deployment from multiple platforms, including surface vessels and submarines. The C-HGB, meanwhile, is said to be based on an alternate re-entry system that the Army developed in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories. Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, is currently under contract to create prototypes of this glide body for both military branches. The C-HGB is propelled by a booster rocket that accelerates it to hypersonic speeds before jettisoning the now-expendable booster. With a planned capability of traveling at Mach 5 or faster, it is designed to be maneuverable, making interception more challenging for potential adversaries. The LRHW's organizational structure consists of batteries, each including four Transporter Erector Launchers (TELs) carrying two AUR+C missiles each, alongside a Battery Operations Center for command and control. Despite the ambitious plans, the LRHW program has encountered significant hurdles. A 2023 report by the Congressional Budget Office emphasizes the need for rigorous flight testing to secure the delicate electronics within hypersonic missiles and better understand material performance under extreme conditions. Initially, the Army had scheduled three flight tests before introducing the first battery. However, setbacks have plagued testing, including a failed booster flight in October 2021 and another unsuccessful full missile test in June 2022. Further complications arose in October 2022 when the Department of Defense postponed a scheduled test to investigate the issues raised by the previous failures. A subsequent attempt in March 2023 was scrubbed due to discrepancies found during pre-flight checks. The most recent planned flight test, slated for September 2023, also did not materialize, as the Army admitted that it would miss its target of fielding the LRHW by the end of this fiscal year. A report from the Government Accountability Office in June 2024 highlighted that integration challenges have delayed the initial deployment and full operational capability of the LRHW system further into the future.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Army will field its long-range hypersonic weapon by end of fiscal year
Following a lengthy delay as the U.S. Army and Navy struggled to test the round, the Army will field its long-range hypersonic weapon to the first unit by the end of fiscal 2025, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed Wednesday in a statement to Defense News. The Army had planned to field the live, ground-launched hypersonic rounds to the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state by the fall of 2023. But the milestone continued to be pushed back after several aborted tests in 2023 due to challenges at the range, related not to the round, but the process of firing up the missile for launch. Testing the all-up round was considered critical to ensure the system was safe, effective and ready for fielding, said then-Army acquisition chief Doug Bush. The U.S. is in a race to field the capability and develop systems to defend against hypersonic missiles. China and Russia are actively developing and testing hypersonic weapons. The Army conducted an end-to-end successful flight test of its hypersonic missile at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii in May 2024, which put the initial fielding to the first unit closer on the horizon. Army's successful hypersonic missile test puts fielding on horizon The Army and Navy completed another successful all-up round test in December at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, of what the services call the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, or C-HGB. The test provided additional confidence to move forward with the program. 'This test builds on several flight tests in which the Common Hypersonic Glide Body achieved hypersonic speed at target distances and demonstrates that we can put this capability in the hands of the warfighter,' then-Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said in a Pentagon statement at the time of the test. The two services jointly developed the glide body. The Army will launch its version, which it calls the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, or LRHW, from a mobile ground platform. The Navy's version, dubbed Conventional Prompt Strike, will be launched from ships. Hypersonic weapons are capable of flying faster than Mach 5 — or more than 3,836 miles per hour — and can maneuver between varying altitudes, making them difficult to detect. The C-HGB is made up of the weapon's warhead, guidance system, cabling and thermal protection shield. While the plan to field the weapon to the U.S. Army has taken nearly two years longer than planned, Army officials have been quick to point out that missile development programs typically take about 10 years. The LRHW program is only just beyond the five-year mark. The Army has worked with Leidos' Dynetics for years to build the industrial base for the C-HGB that will be used by both the ground service and the Navy, as the domestic private sector has never built a hypersonic weapon. The service also separately produced launchers, trucks, trailers and the battle operations center necessary to put together the first weapon battery. Lockheed Martin is the weapon system integrator for the Army's hypersonic capability that will be launched from a mobile truck. In preparation for receiving the all-up rounds, the Army completed its delivery of the first hypersonic weapon capability — minus the rounds — to the Multi-Domain Task Force unit at JBLM two days ahead of its end-of-fiscal 2021 fielding deadline. The unit has been training on the system since the delivery.
