The U.S. Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) Dark Eagle missile has been equipped with a warhead weighing approximately 13 kilograms, according to reports released on December 14.
This miniature warhead, which weighs up to 30 pounds (13.6 kg), is notably smaller than those used in long-range weapons such as the AIM-120 air-to-air missile. The report emphasizes that the primary destructive force of a hypersonic weapon comes not from warhead mass but from kinetic energy generated during high-speed impact. The Dark Eagle has a range of up to 3,500 kilometers and can cover this distance in less than 20 minutes.
According to Lieutenant General Francisco Lozano, director of the Office of Hypersonic Weapons and Energy Weapons, the missile is capable of striking targets as far away as China from Guam or Tehran from Qatar. Current production rates are one unit per month, with plans to increase output to two units per month.
