The U.S. Army has acknowledged missing its 2025 deadline for fielding the first U.S. Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, officially known as Dark Eagle, Bloomberg reports.

"Fielding activities include the required integration, safety, and readiness steps to ensure soldiers receive a system that is reliable, sustainable, and effective in operational environments and are on track for completion in early 2026," an Army statement said.

"As the Army moves toward completion of fielding, it remains focused on rigorous testing, training, and system maturity to support successful operational employment."

The system was originally supposed to reach the field in 2023. The Army blew past another deadline to deploy it in September 2025 due to testing challenges.

Hypersonic missiles are weapons that fly faster than Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) and are designed to be harder to track and intercept than traditional missiles.

Russia and China have already fielded hypersonic weapons, while the United States is pushing toward deployment after years of testing and development, and countries including India, Japan, France, and North Korea are advancing their own programs amid growing concerns about a new arms competition and weakened missile defenses.

The U.S. is behind Russia and China in fielded hypersonic weapons, but it's pouring money into catching up — the Pentagon has spent more than $12 billion since 2018 to develop, test and deploy a hypersonic weapons system.

The first battery is expected to cost about $2.7 billion, including missiles, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The Dark Eagle is a ground-launched hypersonic weapon designed to hit targets at very long range.

It uses a rocket booster to launch a hypersonic glide body, which then glides and maneuvers at extreme speed toward its target.

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