Overview
- U.S. Central Command has requested positioning the Army’s Dark Eagle hypersonic system in the Middle East for potential strikes inside Iran, with approval still pending.
- The request cites Iranian ballistic‑missile launchers moved beyond the Precision Strike Missile’s 300‑plus‑mile range, reducing current strike options.
- Dark Eagle, the Long‑Range Hypersonic Weapon, is designed to glide at over five times the speed of sound and can strike targets roughly 1,725 miles away.
- If approved, this would be the first U.S. hypersonic deployment, despite the program running behind schedule, a very small missile inventory of about eight, and prices near $15 million per round with a GAO estimate of $2.7 billion per battery.
- The deliberations come during a fragile early‑April ceasefire and stalled talks, as the U.S. has fired about 1,100 JASSM‑ER cruise missiles and lost dozens of MQ‑9 drones and several crewed jets, underscoring contested Iranian airspace.