Due to budget constraints, the U.S. Navy has canceled its HALO hypersonic missile program but continues investing in long-range strike capabilities like the LRASM.
Over two years ago, the United States Air Force canceled its AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), a hypersonic air-to-ground ballistic missile.
The final ARRW test was carried out last March, and just this month, the U.S. Navy has deep-sixed its Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO) missile, which is also part of the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 2 (OASuW Inc 2) program.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded Raytheon and Lockheed Martin contracts valued at $116 million to develop the missiles, which could be launched from surface ships, submarines, and potentially even land.
However, after much effort, the development of a high-speed missile has gone nowhere fast!
“The Navy cancelled the solicitation for the Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (HALO) Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) effort in fall 2024 due to budgetary constraints that prevent fielding new capability within the planned delivery schedule,” a U.S. Navy spokesperson said in a statement, per NavalNews.com.
The Hypersonic Missile Program: Still a Critical Asset?
U.S. Navy officials had described the HALO as a “critical” asset, and the goal was to field it by the end of the decade.
However, there have been setbacks, including its inability to reach actual “hypersonic” speeds of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, and only reaching supersonic speeds of just over Mach 4.
The end of the HALO line doesn’t mean the U.S. Navy is giving up on hypersonic weapons.
Instead, the U.S. Navy is now focused on the Lockheed Martin Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), including greater emphasis on tits targeting capabilities.
“The Navy is committed to its investment in Long Range Fires to meet National Defense objectives, with priority emphasis on fielding continued capability improvements to the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), currently fielded on the Navy F/A-18 and Air Force B-1B aircraft,” the Navy spokesperson added.
“The decision was made after the Navy conducted a careful analysis, looking at cost trends and program performance across the munitions industrial base compared to the Navy’s priorities and existing fiscal commitments,” the spokesperson continued.
Are Hypersonic Missiles Worth the Money?
Hypersonic missiles have received considerable attention, notably for their extreme speed and ability to maneuver in flight. Both attributes could make the weapons difficult to counter, but past claims that it would be impossible have been greatly exaggerated.
Ukraine has repeatedly claimed to have downed Russian hypersonic missiles with the U.S.-made MIM-104 Patriot air defense system, a platform that first entered service in the 1970s. It has been upgraded significantly, but it is still noteworthy that a platform developed before the last days of disco can counter what the Kremlin has claimed to be the most advanced twenty-first-century missile.
Still, it reminds you that you can’t spell hypersonic without the “hype.”
The U.S. has trailed behind Russia and China in developing a hypersonic missile, but part of the reason is still based on the “hype.”
Moscow and Beijing, as well as Pyongyang and Tehran, have boasted of developing the weapons. However, only Russia has employed any in combat, and the missiles weren’t much more effective than existing systems.
The U.S. may also have a head start on what matters more, namely, countering the missiles.
“Existing missile defenses can already intercept missiles traveling far faster than HGVs (hypersonic glide vehicles) or HCMs (hypersonic cruise missiles), and could be adapted to intercept hypersonic missiles as well. A satellite constellation to track HGVs is planned to be in orbit by 2025. Moreover, as of 2022, the U.S. Aegis sea-based terminal defense system already had a nascent capability to counter hypersonics,” wrote Alexander H. Montgomery and Amy J. Nelson in May 2023.
The U.S. has continued to make great strides in countering hypersonic weapons, and last month, a United States Navy warship tested the Aegis Combat System to detect, track, and even engage a maneuvering hypersonic missile in a simulated flight.
The Flight Test Other 40 (FTX-40), known as Stellar Banshee, was carried out from the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney. It tracked a live advanced hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM).
“Our Aegis Combat System successfully defended against a simulated hypersonic threat,” said Chandra Marshall, vice president of Multi-Domain Combat Solutions at Lockheed Martin.
“Aegis Baseline 9’s hypersonic defense advantage against an MRBM target brings incredible capability that allows our warfighter to see the unseen sooner, ensuring our sailors get in front of threats quickly.”
The Navy Finds a Better Return on Investment than Hypersonic Missiles
A final consideration is that the U.S. Navy has spent hundreds of millions, and perhaps even billions of dollars, employing expensive air defense missiles to counter drones and anti-ship missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militants.
It has proven to be a costly war of attrition.
Now, the U.S. may be flipping the narrative. The missiles and systems to counter a hypersonic weapon could be cheaper ordnance, costing around $1 million. In comparison, the hypersonic missile could have a price tag of $10 million to $30 million a pop!
That could make hypersonic missiles too expensive to use.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Shutterstock/ Anelo.
