On Friday morning, the US military launched its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, aiming for operational deployment later this year. While the missile, known as Dark Eagle, demonstrated impressive speed and altitude after launch, its success was not immediately confirmed. Highlighting global competition, the article noted that Russia and China also possess hypersonic capabilities, emphasizing the importance of this missile for US military strategy to strike targets swiftly with little warning.
The Army's Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon fired out of a canister on a road-mobile trailer shortly after sunrise on Florida's Space Coast, then headed east over the Atlantic Ocean propelled by a solid-fueled rocket booster.
Local residents shared images of the launch on social media. Designed for conventional munitions, the new missile is poised to become the first ground-based hypersonic weapon fielded by the US military.
A US defense official did not answer questions from Ars about the outcome of the test flight Friday. We are currently evaluating the results.
Russia has used hypersonic missiles in combat against Ukraine. China has 'the world's leading hypersonic missile arsenal' according to a recent Pentagon report on Chinese military power.
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