Latest news with #M142HighMobilityArtilleryRocketSystem
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blackbeard ‘Cheap' Hypersonic Strike Missile Being Developed For U.S. Army (Updated)
The U.S. Army wants to see if a startup founded three years ago by former SpaceX employees can deliver a lower-cost ground-launched missile, dubbed Blackbeard, capable of engaging targets hundreds of miles away at hypersonic speeds. The weapon is being developed in parallel with new uncrewed launcher vehicles, but could also be fired from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers. With a viable Blackbeard design from the Castelion Corporation, the Army says it would gain a valuable new way to quickly strike targets, including time-sensitive ones on the move, and do so relatively cheaply. In its proposed budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year, the Army is asking for $25 million to support work on the Blackbeard Ground Launch (Blackbeard GL) effort. The funding request is somewhat confusingly contained in a line item that has been used for elements of the Dark Eagle Long Range Hypersonic Weapons (LRHW), as well as HIMARS Extended Range Demostration (HERD) work, in the past. 'As of June 2025, the program office is pursuing a Middle Tier of Acquisition for Rapid Prototyping (MTA-RP) pathway, with the goal of transitioning the system to Program Executive Office Missile and Space if successful and deemed cost-effective,' the Army's Fiscal Year 2026 budget request explains. 'To accelerate development and leverage innovation, the program office is pursuing acquisition under a Fixed-Firm-Price (FFP) sole-source Other Transaction Authority for Prototyping (OTAP) with Castelion Corporation, a non-traditional defense contractor.' Castelion was founded in 2022 by a trio of individuals who left space launch and services giant SpaceX to form their own company, which is focused on the development of high-speed, but also relatively low-cost and readily producible strike weapons. As of January, the company had raised more than $100 million in funding from private investors and had secured tens of millions more in U.S. military contracts, according to The Wall Street Journal. Those contracts are something we will come back to later on. Rapid development schedules and affordable, mass-produced defense hardware are the keys to deterring future wars. Castelion is here to build them. — Castelion (@CastelionCorp) October 5, 2023 'The mission of Blackbeard Ground Launch (GL) is to attack/neutralize/suppress/destroy using hypersonic missile delivered precision fires (seeker based) against time sensitive moving targets and hardened targets at a much-reduced cost per missile than currently exists in the Army inventory,' according to the Army's proposed budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year. 'Blackbeard Ground Launch (GL) is an affordable, mass-produced hypersonic weapon designed for mid-range precision. The Army will leverage advancements in technology, materials, and cost-effective production methods to provide superior capabilities through fast, iterative design cycles, flexible hardware development, and modern manufacturing practices.' 'Blackbeard GL is not a replacement to [sic] the Long Range Hypersonic Weapons (LRHW) as it will not reach similar velocities nor range,' the line item also makes clear. 'The goal of Blackbeard GL is to deliver approximately 80% of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 4 capability at a significantly reduced cost.' PrSM is a short-range ballistic missile. The Army is in the process of fielding the baseline Increment 1 version now, which can be fired from both wheeled M142 HIMARS and tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launcher vehicles. The Increment 2 missile, which is in development now, features a new dual-mode seeker system that allows for the engagement of moving targets on land or at sea. Increment 3 is focused on new 'enhanced' payloads, which might include small precision-guided glide bombs or kamikaze drones. Increment 4 seeks to increase PrSM's range from 310 miles (500 kilometers) to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), and could include the addition of a ramjet or some other form of air-breathing propulsion. At least in terms of range, a Blackbeard missile offering 80% percent of the capability of an Increment 4 PrSM could therefore be able to reach targets out to just under 500 miles (800 kilometers). Hypersonic speed is also typically defined as anything above Mach 5, which would then be the minimum peak velocity for the Blackbeard missile. It is important to note here that traditional ballistic missiles travel at very high speeds, with many types often exceeding the hypersonic threshold in the terminal phase of flight. However, the term 'hypersonic missile' generally refers to weapons designed for sustained hypersonic speed across a far shallower and even maneuvering trajectory. This can include missiles that release unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicles, like the aforementioned Dark Eagle, as well as air-breathing hypersonic cruise missiles. Exactly how Blackbeard is expected to be 'hypersonic' is unclear. What kind of unit cost the Army is eying for Blackbeard is unknown. PrSM Increment 4 is still very much in the conceptual stage, so there is no price point there to compare against. Per its latest budget request, the Army is now paying around $1.6 million for each Increment 1 PrSM, but is also spending some $5.35 million per Increment 2 missile with the new guidance package. TWZ has reached out to the Army and Castelion for more information. Castelion has already conducted numerous launches to date of test articles with different designs, which could reflect multiple concepts under development. They all look, at least in very broad strokes externally, like small ballistic missiles. Some of the company's experimental designs also look to feature tail sections that are at least heavily inspired by, if not lifted directly from Standard-series surface-to-air missiles still in service with the U.S. Navy and other navies globally. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force have awarded Castelion contracts for work related to long-range strike weapon concepts in the past. The company has also said previously that it is aiming to have a more finalized design by 2027. The Air Force connection may also help explain the apparent existence of an air-launched design that the Army plans to use as the basis for the first phase of the Blackbeard project. Phase 1 'will deliver a prototype proof-of-concept, including a fixed-fin flight demonstration of the existing air-launched, extended-range Blackbeard design from a modified Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM) pod,' according to the Army's latest budget proposal. 'Following the demonstration, Blackbeard-GL Minimum Viable Product (MVP) prototypes will be fabricated alongside a custom Blackbeard-GL launcher pod, culminating in an MVP flight test launched from the M142 HIMARS Fire Control system.' All current munitions for the M142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS come in standardized MFOM pods. The pods can each hold six 227mm guided artillery rockets, a single Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missile, or two PrSMs. It's unclear how many Blackbeards the Army expects to fit inside the standard pod architecture. 'If Phase 1 is successful, this option will be exercised to develop and demonstrate the full capability of a production-representative weapon,' according to the Army's budget documents. 'This includes delivering 10 missiles integrated into the M142 HIMARS launcher platform and fire control system, as well as integrating a Flight Termination System (FTS).' A munition that would allow a HIMARS launcher to precisely engage stationary or moving targets 800 miles in any direction from where it is located, and do so very quickly and at relatively low cost, would be a major boost in capability. Even just with a hypersonic peak speed, Blackbeard would offer additional flexibility against pop-up threats and otherwise present additional challenges for enemy forces. As mentioned at the start of this story, the Army says that Blackbeard is also a direct companion to work on new uncrewed launcher vehicles capable of firing munitions from MFOM pods, as well as bespoke canisters. The service is currently looking toward a future that could include a potential family of so-called Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launchers (CAML) of various sizes. It has already tested an uncrewed derivative of the HIMARS, as well as a separate design from Raytheon. Castelion has been using launchers loaded on 10×10 Oshkosh MKR18 Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) trucks, as well as static launchers on the ground, during its testing. Another flight test in the books – this time @Spaceport_NM. Our second flight in the past 30 best way to stay ahead of your adversary in a prolonged competition is to have faster learning cycles than they do. — Castelion (@CastelionCorp) February 19, 2025 Welcoming our new LSVR MKR18 to El Segundo this week. We'll be making upgrades to convert this vehicle into a launcher system for our upcoming flight tests – and it's a fun ride. — Castelion (@CastelionCorp) April 10, 2024 In general, uncrewed launchers would help the service expand its overall rocket artillery and ballistic missile launch capacity without the need for significantly larger numbers of personnel. The launchers could also be employed with less risk to human operators, even when pushed further forward. This could be a particularly potent combination when paired with Blackbeard's range and other capabilities. Beyond the operational capabilities it might offer, Blackbeard represents a steadily growing U.S. military-wide interest in lower-cost precision munitions that are also relatively easy to produce, as well as leveraging non-traditional defense contractors to develop and build them. This is widely seen as vital for bolstering stockpiles in an economically viable way ahead of a major contingency, such as a large-scale conflict in the Pacific against China, and keeping adequate supplies of those weapons flowing in the event of a drawn-out fight. On top of all this, hypersonic weapons have historically been notoriously complex and expensive, which in turn limits their potential impact in future operations. At the same time, the U.S. military has consistently touted the importance of hypersonic capabilities to success in future conflicts, especially against global competitors like China. 'I think the types of sensing capability that quantum sensing is going to deliver, the cross domain sensing opportunities from space to air, for example,' and 'the sophistication of sensor fusion and track using AI [artificial intelligence] and other techniques – I don't think we're going to be able to hide in any operational sense, in a realistic way,' Rob McHenry, deputy director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), warned during an online talk hosted by the Air and Space Forces Association's (AFA) Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies last week. McHenry had also explicitly posited whether the 'stealth era' might be coming to an end. 'And so what are the implications of that? You know, if you look historically, there are things like using speed and maneuverability,' he added. The U.S. military is also trying to improve its contracting processes to manage risks differently to encourage innovation while avoiding sinking significant resources into efforts that ultimately don't provide useful results. The 'phased approach provides the Army with a clear 'off-ramp' should the technology prove immature, ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,' the line item for Blackbeard in the service's latest budget request makes clear. Whether the Blackbeard missile project delivers on its promise or not, it could serve as a model for future Army munition development efforts. Update: 7/1/2025 – In response to our queries, Castelion has now told TWZ that the designs seen in the imagery it has released to date show 'arerepresentative of the low-cost internally developed test vehicles we use to enable rapid subsystem design iteration and to ground our performance models in real-world test data.' 'Castelion's approach to development focuses on getting into hardware-in-the-loop and flight testing early in development to support learning cycles across design, production, and test,' the company added. 'As such, flight vehicles shown on social media are not representative nor intended to be representative of our final weapon systems.' Contact the author: joe@
American Military News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
35,00 troops, 19 nations join in massive military exercise
Thirty-five thousand troops from 19 different nations are currently participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre 25, which is the largest joint military training event between the United States and Australia. In a Monday press release, the U.S. Army announced that Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 'formally commenced today from the flight deck of HMAS Adelaide in Sydney Harbor, launching military activities involving 19 nations and over 30,000 service members across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.' The Army noted that this year's joint military exercise is the 'largest bilateral military training event between the United States and Australia to date.' Lt. Gen. Joel B. Vowell, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, explained that Exercise Talisman Sabre provides two main things for U.S. forces in the region. 'It's readiness to respond when our nations call us to do that, and it's effectively a deterrent mechanism, because our ultimate goal, part two here, is no war,' Vowell said. 'By rehearsing, by practicing together, by staying in tune with each other, we are providing that readiness to our armies, our navies, our air forces, our space forces, our cyber forces.' According to The Associated Press, Monday's military exercise activities included Australia the launching of missiles from the country's M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which was recently purchased from the United States. Brig. Nick Wilson announced, 'Today was the first time the Australian Army has live-fired our long-range, multi-domain platforms being the HIMARS, so it is a remarkable day.' READ MORE: Video: US military presence expands in Australia amid tension with China The Associated Press reported that the United States and Australia started the joint Talisman Sabre exercise in 2005. The outlet cited Australia's defense department, which said that over 35,000 military personnel would be participating in this year's exercise. Australia, the United States, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom are participating in this year's military exercise, according to The Associated Press. In addition to the military exercise activities in Australia, The Associated Press reported that this year's joint exercise will also feature activities in Papua New Guinea. According to the outlet, Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy noted that Chinese surveillance ships have previously monitored the last four Talisman Sabre exercises off Australia's coast and are expected to monitor this year's exercise as well. 'The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017. It'd be very unusual for them not to observe it,' Conroy stated. 'We'll adjust accordingly. We'll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia, but we'll also adjust how we conduct those exercises.'
Toronto Star
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Australia hosts military drills with US and other nations, likely to draw Chinese surveillance
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The largest-ever war-fighting drills in Australia, Exercise Talisman Sabre, are underway and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships. Australia launched missiles from its M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, on Monday during live-fire exercises at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, a 4,500 square kilometer (1,700 square mile) Outback expanse in Queensland state. The HIMARS launchers were recently bought from the United States.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mysterious Shipping Container Rocket Launcher Spotted At Trump's Visit To Fort Bragg
A containerized launcher designed to fire the same suite of artillery rockets and ballistic missiles as the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) has appeared at the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The ability to launch ballistic missiles, in particular, from what is outwardly indistinguishable from any other shipping container, presents a flexible strike capability that is harder for opponents to spot. Ukraine's recent Operation Spiderweb covert drone attacks highlighted to a dizzying degree the value of even lower-end concealed fires capabilities. The launcher inside the container is visible off to the side in a video, seen below, from President Donald Trump's visit to Fort Bragg today, which was posted online by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino. Trump was given demonstrations of various Army capabilities at the base's Holland Drop Zone, including the launch of artillery rockets. A separate launcher, the type of which is not immediately clear, was used to fire those rounds. President Trump arrives at the Holland Drop Zone—Fort Bragg… — Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 10, 2025 President Trump also observed paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division jump from a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane and a mock special operations assault involving Green Berets and the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment SOAR). A transporter erector launcher for the Soviet-designed Scud ballistic missile, or a full-scale mockup of one, is also notably present in the footage of the special operations demonstration. Bragg is the Army's main special operations hub, as well as home to the 82nd Airborne Division, among other units. The 82nd Airborne Division — Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 10, 2025 FORT BRAGG—@USArmy — Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 10, 2025 TWZ has not been able to quickly find additional information about the containerized launcher, but it is not entirely new. In August 2024, Military Times posted a video of it, seen below, across its social media accounts, but with no additional context. We have reached out to the Army for more details. What is clear is that the containerized launcher, the entire roof of which is designed to open to one side, can accommodate two of the same ammunition 'pods' used as the tracked M270 MRLS and wheeled M142 HIMARS launch vehicles. Pods are available that come loaded with six 227mm guided artillery rockets, a single Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile, or two Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). ATACMS and PrSM, the latter of which is beginning to enter Army service now to replace the former, are both short-range ballistic missiles. Current-generation 227mm artillery rockets in Army inventory can hit targets some 50 miles (around 80 kilometers) away, and a variant with a maximum range of just over 93 miles (150 kilometers) entered production last year. The longest range variant of the ATACMS short-range ballistic missile in Army service today can reach targets out to 186 miles (300 kilometers). The initial version of PrSM, also known as Increment 1, has a range of 310 miles (500 kilometers), but there are also plans to extend that out to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) or more. It's worth noting that a PrSM with a range beyond 620 miles/1,000 kilometers would be categorized as at least a medium-range ballistic missile. The Army is also developing an anti-ship variant of PrSM with a new seeker and is eyeing further versions with 'enhanced lethality payloads' that could include miniature smart bombs and kamikaze drones. The Army is also currently exploring new pods loaded with smaller rockets that could expand the magazine depth of M270 and M142 launcher vehicles, but at the cost of a reduction in range. The service has been experimenting with new launcher vehicles that can fire this same family of munitions, including uncrewed types and a design offering significantly expanded ammunition capacity. Being able to launch this array of rockets and missiles already gives M270 and M142 immense flexibility. A containerized launcher would open up additional possibilities, including the ability to turn any truck that can carry a standard shipping container into a platform capable of firing long-range guided rockets and missiles. This, in turn, could help the Army more readily expand its available launch capacity as required. The containerized launchers could also be deployed in a fixed mode, offering forward operating bases the ability to hold targets at risk dozens, if not hundreds of miles away. This can include providing an on-call form of organic air/fire support for troops operating far from the forward base. The launcher inside the container cannot traverse laterally, but an array of them could be positioned in such a way to provide maximum coverage in all directions. Being a container-based design, whether deployed in a truck-mounted or fixed configuration, they would be readily relocatable from one location to another. The containerized launchers could also be loaded on rail cars and or employed from ships with sufficient open deck space. In any of these modes, the launcher would benefit from its unassuming outward appearance. This would present challenges for opponents when it comes to detection and targeting, since any container could potentially be loaded with rockets or ballistic missiles. As already mentioned, Ukraine just demonstrated the value of concealed launch capabilities in its unprecedented covert drone attacks on multiple Russian air bases. Other countries, including Russia, China, and Iran, have also been developing containerized launch systems for artillery rockets and/or missiles. In terms of naval use, specifically, it's also worth mentioning here that the U.S. Navy is already in the process of fielding a different containerized missile launcher, designed to fire Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and SM-6 multi-purpose missiles, in shipboard and tractor-trailer configurations. The Navy launcher is based on the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) found on various American and foreign warships, and is directly related to the Army's ground-based Typhon system that can also currently fire Tomahawks and SM-6s. How close the containerized launcher seen at Fort Bragg may or may not be to becoming an operational capability is unclear, but its potential value is not hard to see. Contact the author: joe@
Newsweek
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
US and Allied Drills Counter China's Island-Taking Tactics
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The United States and its allies in the Pacific Ocean, the Philippines and Australia, held a live-fire drill to counter China's island landing operations in the disputed South China Sea. Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email. Why It Matters The U.S. and the Philippines, which have formed an alliance under a mutual defense treaty, are conducting Exercise Balikatan—their largest annual war game—in the Southeast Asian archipelagic country from April 21 to May 9, with the involvement of Australia and Japan. This comes as China asserts sovereignty over most of the territories in the South China Sea. Beijing's claims overlap with those of neighboring nations. Last week, Chinese personnel displayed a national flag on an uninhabited feature near a Philippine island in the region. What To Know In a set of photos released on Thursday, the U.S. and Philippine Marines, as well as soldiers from the Australian army, fired artillery weapons at a floating target during a counter-landing exercise in Rizal, located on the island of Palawan in southwestern Philippines, on Monday. Philippine Marines fire an artillery weapon as part of a counter-landing live fire exercise during Exercise Balikatan in Rizal in the Philippines on April 28, 2025. Philippine Marines fire an artillery weapon as part of a counter-landing live fire exercise during Exercise Balikatan in Rizal in the Philippines on April 28, 2025. Spc. Riley Anfinson/U.S. Army Reserve Exercise Balikatan strengthened the U.S.-Philippine alliance and its "capable combined force," the photo captions read, displaying the allies' commitment to regional security and stability. The exercise also saw the participation of the U.S. Army, which mobilized the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The rocket launcher is capable of projecting "precise, long-range fire" while quickly maneuvering in and out of operational environments. The allied counter-landing exercise comes as the Chinese military released a video showing its four amphibious warships, which are capable of projecting ground and air power during island-landing campaigns, forming a landing ship flotilla for training in the South China Sea. During Exercise Balikatan, the U.S. military employed new, advanced weapons for the first time, including the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS). This U.S. Marine Corps' anti-ship missile system was deployed near the Luzon Strait on April 26. Philippine Marines, Australian soldiers, and United States Marines fire at a floating target during a counter-landing live-fire exercise during Exercise Balikatan in Rizal in the Philippines on April 28, 2025. Philippine Marines, Australian soldiers, and United States Marines fire at a floating target during a counter-landing live-fire exercise during Exercise Balikatan in Rizal in the Philippines on April 28, 2025. Spc. Riley Anfinson/U.S. Army Reserve Meanwhile, the U.S. Army tested its directed energy weapon during an integrated air and missile defense drill on Monday. The Integrated Fires Protection Capability High-Powered Microwave (IFPC-HPM) emits microwave energy to disrupt, disable or destroy drones. What People Are Saying Lieutenant General James F. Glynn, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, said: "Together with our steadfast allies in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and with the growing involvement of nations with shared vital interests, like Australia and Japan, we are operating as a force with mutually supporting capabilities ready to meet challenges in the region and defend a free and open Indo-Pacific." Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said: "We always hold that military cooperation between countries should not target or hurt the interests of any third party, nor should it jeopardize regional peace and stability ... However, the Philippines holds a candle to the devil by currying favor and colluding with the US and other outside countries." What Happens Next Both the U.S. and the Philippines, as well as China, are expected to continue flexing their military power in and around the South China Sea as Manila and Beijing refuse to back down over the sovereignty disputes in the contested waters.
