Department of Defense officials announced
the undisclosed missile that quickly accelerated from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
on April 25 was a successful hypersonic flight test.
In a press statement, the Department of Defense mentioned
The covert operation represented the initial launch.
showcasing a Standard Prompt Attack feature designed for deployment on naval ocean vessels.
“The cold-gas method enables the Navy to launch the missile from the platform and attain a secure altitude away from the vessel before the initial stage ignites,” stated Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe Jr., director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, in the press release.
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“This technological milestone moves SSP nearer to achieving our mission of delivering a secure and dependable hypersonic capability to our Navy,” Wolfe stated.
The Navy’s SSP and U.S. Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office are partnering to develop land and sea variants of Dark Eagle, a hypersonic weapon system. Military officials have said “the use of a common hypersonic missile and joint test opportunities allow the services to pursue a more aggressive timeline for delivery and to realize cost savings.”
The first Navy operational deployment will be aboard the USS Zumwalt, a guided-missile destroyer.
In August 2023, the warship moved its homeport from San Diego, California, to Pascagoula, Mississippi “to enter a modernization period and receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapons system,” a Navy press release said.
To stay updated with the most recent news from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, check out their website.
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Rick Neale
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The article initially appeared on Florida Today.
U.S. Navy hypersonic missile launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station deemed a success