“We continue to move down the path we were on. But as far as decisions on, when do we field, when IOC will be, etcetera, those have to be vetted,” Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch told Breaking Defense.
The US Army recently had 'successful' tests for both its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and a pair of Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1 weapons.
Since dropping out of the INF Treaty, the US Army embarked on development of several new, ground-launched weapons that could be bound for Europe in 2026.
In the meantime, the service anticipates the return of delayed Dark Eagle hypersonic testing this summer, acquisition chief Doug Bush said.
“There's no new science, it's just a mechanical engineering problem to make sure…that missile works with that launcher ... because both were new and normally you don't do it that way,” Army acquisition chief Doug Bush told Breaking Defense.
“We're close to understanding what exactly the problem was, which will inform our path to getting back to testing,” said Army acquisition head Doug Bush.
Despite the current supply chain obstacles, the Army is confident it can fully field the first Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) units by the end of this calendar year, said Chris Mills of the service's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office.
The Army planned to complete the first fielding the hypersonic weapon by the end of the month, but testing hurdles have pushed back the timeline.
“We’re not opening up on the champagne bottle right here on the stage but we're going to get there,” Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch said about Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon fielding.
A senior Navy officer recently said the budget is an "endorsement of the capability."
A recent test of the joint Navy-Army system that the Navy calls Conventional Prompt Strike suffered a partial failure in a June test, but that's because Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe said the service "pushed the envelope... learned a lot."
Fiscal year 2023 is an important year for the Army's modernization portfolio, and its acquisition chief says he's "confident" the service will meet its goals.
Soldiers are already training on the hypersonic battery equipment to prepare for delivery of the missile.
"I don't think it would be wise for us to wait to develop the kinds of weapons systems, we need for a future conflict until we had the diplomatic agreements signed," Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said.