The U.S. is mulling using its first hypersonic missile against Iran — even though it may not yet be ready for battlefield use.
CENTCOM says it needs to deploy the “Dark Eagle” missile against Iran because it has been forced to move its launchers out of range for Washington’s Precision Strike Missile, which the U.S. is now running low on, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Although it completed some successful tests in 2024, the Dark Eagle repeatedly failed to launch during other tests because of launcher and production quality issues. An unnamed defense official told Fox News that the weapon has reached "initial operational capability," but the Pentagon testing office says it won't have enough data to evaluate Dark Eagle’s combat effectiveness until early 2027.
The request comes amid a deadlock in U.S.-Iran talks that could spark a return to all-out war. President Donald Trump has pledged to maintain a blockade of Iranian shipping in the Persian Gulf, but Iran says it will only come to the table if the U.S. lifts the siege.
As Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, told RS, the possible Dark Eagle deployment “suggests that the Pentagon has lost all perspective.”
“Iran is not an existential threat, and the United States should not be expending its highest-end missiles there no matter what,” Kavanagh said. “The unit cost per missile is $41 million or so. Are any targets in Iran worth this much?”
Another expert observed that a deployment soon might help the Dark Eagle get more funding for next year’s defense budget.
“How do you know it is defense budget season in Washington? An unnecessary push to deploy a not-yet-fully-operational hypersonic missile against Iran,” Kelly Grieco, Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center, wrote on X. “Nothing says 'fund me’ like first use, I guess.”