The United States is mulling the possibility of deploying its long-range hypersonic missile, Dark Eagle, in West Asia for use against Iran, even as a fragile ceasefire has been in place for three weeks now.
A Western media report claimed the US Central Command (CENTCOM) placed a request for the Dark Eagle, pressing the need for a longer-range missile system to strike deep inside Iran.
The request hasn’t been approved yet, the report said, even as a final decision is awaited. But the request for the missile’s deployment is said to be dictated by its range.
The ceasefire, though holding at present, is precarious, as the US and Iran are blowing hot over the blockade of the Iranian ports by the American Navy and the Strait of Hormuz by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Why was the Darg Eagle missile requisitioned?
Another American media house claimed CENTCOM was preparing for a “short and powerful” wave of airstrikes on Iran to target its infrastructure.
Reports have emerged that Iran has moved its ballistic missile launchers beyond the reach of the current lot of American precision strike missiles, which can hit targets at over 300 miles range.
But these missile systems’ capabilities were insufficient to reach key Iranian military assets, the reports said, noting that CENTCOM’s request for the Dark Eagle was based on the range inadequacies of existing missile systems, also justified by a Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report.
What are Dark Eagle missiles’ capabilities?
The Dark Eagle, also known as the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), is designed to deliver “long-range conventional precision strike capability,” according to the Library of Congress. The system is intended to target air defence systems, command posts, and potentially ships.
The missile is a US Army system that is still under development and has not yet been declared fully operational. But it can be launched against “time-sensitive and heavily defended targets,” the Library of Congress said in its description of the Dark Eagle.
The missile uses a hypersonic glide vehicle and is launched using a two-stage booster to a high altitude, after which the Common Hypersonic Glide Body separates and glides back towards Earth at hypersonic speeds.
The missile reaches the intended target five times the speed of sound, with the capability to manoeuvre during flight. It has a range of over 2,776 km (1,725 miles), but the exact capability remains undisclosed publicly.
However, US Army Director for Hypersonic, Directed Energy, Space, and Rapid Acquisition Lt Gen Francisco Lozano informed War Secretary Pete Hegseth during a December 2025 event that the system could reach up to 3,500 km, noting that it could hit “mainland China from Guam”.
What makes Dark Eagle hard to intercept?
The Dark Eagle’s manoeuvre capability is designed to avoid interception. This means that the missile does not follow a fixed or predictable trajectory. This makes it significantly harder for air defence systems to track or intercept the missile.
Air Defence systems are designed to predict the trajectory of a missile in advance, through tracking, so that it can be intercepted. Dark Eagle’s hypersonic speed leaves a smaller window of opportunity to be detected and responded to.
The missile system was designed to counter advanced air defence networks of Russia and China, and Iran’s air defence capabilities are no match for the Dark Eagle, it is said.
How powerful or expensive is Dark Eagle?
The hypersonic missile is the most expensive weapon system in the US inventory, costing up to $15 million a piece. Each battery comprises eight Dark Eagle missiles, with the US Government Accountability Office estimating each battery to cost up to $2.7 billion.
The world’s largest defence company, Lockheed Martin, manufactures the missile system and is a limited edition system, meaning it is available in small quantities