Secretive 'Dark Eagle' Hypersonic Missile Launches from Cape Canaveral

After a successful test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station last December, the Army on Thursday officially named its long-range hypersonic weapon “Dark Eagle.” The system designed to “disintegrate adversary capabilities” was at it again Friday morning.

Images posted to social media showed the missile launch from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 46 while the Eastern Range had posted keep-out notices and warnings for maritime and airspace.

“A combined team of government, academic and industry partners conducted a test on behalf of the Department of Defense from a test site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,” according to a statement from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. “We are currently evaluating the results of the test.”

The action on the Space Coast comes a day after the Army officially dubbed the defense system with its new moniker.

“Part of the name pays tribute to the eagle — a master hunter known for its speed, stealth and agility — due to the LRHW’s combination of velocity, accuracy, maneuverability, survivability and versatility,” reads a press release from the DOD. “In addition, the bald eagle — our national bird — represents independence, strength and freedom.”

The release further explained the “dark” portion of the name refers to the hypersonic weapon’s ability to “disintegrate adversary capabilities, including anti-access/area-denial systems, communications capacity, long-range fires and other high-payoff/time-critical targets.”

The December test was a combined effort of the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office and the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, an effort for the two branches to use the same weapon system and reduce testing timelines and cost.

“Hypersonic weapons will complicate adversaries’ decision calculus, strengthening deterrence,” said Patrick Mason, senior official performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. “Their speed, accuracy and versatility are befitting its new popular name, Dark Eagle.”

SLC 46 had most recently hosted a pair of Astra Space rocket launches in 2022 before its use of late for DOD testing.

The launch apparatus uses a battery operations center and transporter erector launcher sending the missile streaking east over the Atlantic.

The December test was the system’s first “live-fire event,” DOD stated.

The system is meant to be deployed on land or sea. Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound offering a much more difficult weapon to counter after launch.

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