Pentagon’s Troubled Hypersonic Push Falters Again As US Army Delays Dark Eagle Missile Deployment

The United States Army has missed yet another deadline to field its first hypersonic weapon, marking the latest setback in what has become one of the Pentagon's most troubled priority programmes.

The service acknowledged this week that it failed to meet its end-of-2025 target for deploying the Dark Eagle missile, part of a $10.4 billion hypersonic development effort.

The Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon system remains unavailable for operational use despite a trained unit standing ready at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

The US Army stated that fielding activities, including required integration, safety and readiness steps, are now on track for completion in early 2026.

This represents the third missed deadline for the programme, following previous failures in September 2023 and September 2025.

The Pentagon has invested more than $12 billion since 2018 in attempts to develop, test and deploy a hypersonic system.

The first battery alone will cost approximately $2.7 billion, including missiles, according to the US Government Accountability Office.

Technical complexities in ensuring the system works reliably have repeatedly delayed deployment, despite the missile successfully completing an end-to-end flight test at Cape Canaveral in December.

The delays occur against a backdrop of growing concern over America's hypersonic capabilities gap.

China and Russia have already deployed new hypersonic projectiles, while the United States still lacks a similar operational capability.

Hypersonic missiles can fly at more than 6,000 km per hour while manoeuvring at low altitudes, making them significantly harder to intercept with traditional air defence systems.

Russia has already employed the technology in attacks on Ukraine.

The US Army activated a battery to operate Dark Eagle on 17 December, announcing it as a significant advancement in military capabilities, though it did not mention at the time that the missiles themselves were not ready for deployment.

The service maintains it remains focused on rigorous testing, training and system maturity to support successful operational employment when the weapon finally enters service.

Please click here to add Swarajya as your preferred and trusted news source on Google