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Updated November 30, 2023
The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)
What Is the Army’s Long-Range
Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB)
Hypersonic Weapon?
The C-HGB is reportedly based on the Alternate Re-Entry
The Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)
System developed by the Army and Sandia National
(Figure 1), with a reported range of 1,725 miles, consists of
Laboratories. Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, is currently
a ground-launched missile equipped with a hypersonic glide
under contract to produce C-HGB prototypes for the Army
body and associated transport, support, and fire control
and Navy. The C-HGB “uses a booster rocket motor to
equipment. According to the Army
accelerate to well-above hypersonic speeds, and then
jettisons the expended rocket booster.” The C-HGB is
This land-based, truck-launched system is armed
planned to be maneuverable, making it more difficult to
with hypersonic missiles that can travel well over
detect and intercept and “can travel at Mach 5 or higher ...
3,800 miles per hour. They can reach the top of the
at least five times faster than the speed of sound or up to
Earth’s atmosphere and remain just beyond the
13,000 miles per hour.”
range of air and missile defense systems until they
are ready to strike, and by then it’s too late to react.
LRHW Organization and Units
The LRHW is organized into batteries. According to the
Figure 1. Artist Rendition of a Notional LRHW Unit
Army “a LRHW battery consists of four Transporter
Erector Launchers on modified M870A4 trailers, each
equipped with two AUR+Cs (eight in total), one Battery
Operations Center (BOC) for command and control, and a
BOC support vehicle.”
The 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment at Joint Base
Lewis-McChord, Washington, was designated to operate
the first battery of eight LRHW missiles. The battalion, also
referred to as a Strategic Long-Range Fires battalion, is part
of the Army’s 1st Multi Domain Task Force (MDTF), a unit
in the Indo Pacific-oriented I Corps stationed at Joint Base
Lewis-McChord. Other LRHW batteries are planned for
Strategic Long-Range Fires battalions in the remaining
Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/
MDTFs scheduled for activation.
a36421213/army-hypersonic-weapon-1700-mile-range/, accessed
November 18, 2021.
LRHW Testing and Program Activities
According to a 2023 Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
The Army further notes
Study, “U.S. Hypersonic Weapons and Alternatives,”
The LRHW system provides the Army a strategic
“Extensive flight testing is necessary to shield hypersonic
attack weapon system to defeat Anti-Access/Area
missiles’ sensitive electronics, to understand how various
Denial (A2/AD) capabilities, suppress adversary
materials perform, and predict aerodynamics at sustained
long-range fires, and engage other high payoff/time
temperatures as high as 3,000° Fahrenheit.” The Army
critical targets. The Army is working closely with
originally planned for three flight tests of the LRHW before
the Navy in the development of the LRHW. LRHW
the first battery fielding in FY2023. On October 21, 2021,
the booster rocket carrying the C-HGB vehicle reportedly
is comprised of the Common Hypersonic Glide
failed a test flight, resulting in what defense officials
Body (C-HGB), and the Navy 34.5-inch booster.
characterized as a “no test” as the C-HGB had no chance to
LRHW Components
deploy. Reportedly, a June 2022 test of the entire LRHW
missile also resulted in failure.
Missile
Flight Test Delays
The missile component of the LRHW is reportedly being
In October 2022, it was reported the Department of Defense
developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
(DOD) delayed a scheduled LRHW test in order to “assess
When the hypersonic glide body is attached, it is referred to
the root cause of the June [2022] failure.” Reportedly, the
as the Navy-Army All Up Round plus Canister (AUR+C).
delayed test would be rescheduled to the first quarter of
The missile component serves as the common two-stage
booster for the Army’s LRHW and the Navy’s
FY2023.
Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) system, which can be
fired from both surface vessels and submarines.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)
March 2023 LRHW Test Scrubbed and
Notes: RDT&E = Research, Development, Test & Evaluation; $M =
Possible Delay in FY2023 Fielding
U.S. dollars in mil ions.
According to a March 10, 2023, Inside Defense article,
“
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees, in their
DOD Scrubs Key Hypersonic Weapons Test, Adding Risk
reports on the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act
to Army FY-23 Fielding Plans”
(NDAA) (H.R. 2670/S. 2226), recommended approving the
On March 5, the Defense Department was preparing
Army’s LRHW RDT&E and Procurement funding requests.
to execute Joint Flight Campaign-2 featuring the
The House Appropriations Committee, in its report on the
Army version of the prototype weapon launched at
FY2024 DOD Appropriations Act (H.R. 4365),
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, when the
recommended decreasing the Army’s LRHW RDT&E
countdown was halted ... As a result of pre-flight
funding request by $25.9, citing AUR+C and programmatic
checks during that event, the test did not occur.
reasons, and added $30 million for the C-HGB, resulting in
an overall $4.1 million increase in funding. The committee
Cancelled September 2023 LRHW Test
recommended reducing LRHW Procurement funding by
and Program Delay
$23.713 million, citing “early to need.” The Senate
On September 6, 2023, it was reported
Appropriations Committee, in its report on the FY2014
DOD Appropriations Act (S. 2587), recommended a $5
The Department of Defense planned to conduct a
million increase to the Army’s LRHW RDT&E funding
flight test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force
request. The committee recommended approving the
Station, Florida, to inform hypersonic technology
Army’s LRHW Procurement funding request.
development. As a result of pre-flight checks, the
test did not occur. The Department was able to
Considerations for Congress
successfully collect data on the performance of the
Possible oversight considerations for Congress could
ground hardware and software that will inform the
include the following:
continued progress toward fielding offensive
hypersonic weapons.
LRHW Testing and Fielding Plans
The Army has experienced a number of test delays and “no-
On September 14, 2023, in an Army statement to
tests” since 2021. Despite this, the Army remained publicly
Bloomberg News, the Army reportedly acknowledged it
committed to fielding its first LRHW battery by the end of
would not be able to meet its goal of deploying the LRHW
FY2023. The cancellation of the September 6, 2023, test
by the end of FY2023. The Army further noted to
flight, the admission the Army would not meet its end of
Bloomberg News
FY2023 deployment goal, and the apparent plan to field the
It is not uncommon for fielding dates to adjust based
LRHW upon the successful completion of a single test
on real-time developments. We continue to
flight arguably raise oversight considerations for
policymakers regarding the Army’s LRHW testing and
aggressively pursue the testing and fielding of long-
fielding plans. One consideration is what the Army’s 2024
range hypersonic weapons. Our goal is to field the
test plan for the LRHW will be. Another possible issue for
system as soon as possible following a successful
clarification is how many successful LRHW flight tests will
test. It is a top modernization priority for the Army
be necessary before the Army declares the LRHW
and for the Department of Defense.
operational.
If this statement is taken literally, the Army intends to field
the LRHW after a single successful flight test. No further
LRHW Missile Costs
information was provided on future LRHW testing,
According to a January 2023 Congressional Budget Office
including possible dates and a test plan.
study, “U.S. Hypersonic Weapons and Alternatives,”
purchasing 300 Intermediate-Range Hypersonic Boost-
FY2024 LRHW Budgetary Information
Glide Missiles (similar to the LRHW) was estimated to cost
$41 million per missile (in 2023 dollars). A January 2023
Table 1. FY2024 LRHW Budget Request
Center for Strategic and International Studies report, “The
Total Request
First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese
Funding Category
($M)
Invasion of Taiwan,” noted when discussing hypersonic
RDT&E
$944.355
weapons, contends “their high costs limits inventories, so
they lack the volume needed to counter the immense
Procurement
$156.821
numbers of Chinese air and naval platforms.”
Sources:
Given concerns about how LRHW costs could influence
RDT&E—DOD FY2024 Budget Estimates, Army Justification Book
LRHW inventories, policymakers might decide to further
2b of 2, RDT&E, Volume II, Budget Activity 4B, March 2023, p. 257
examine LRHW missile costs as well as quantities of
and DOD FY2024 Budget Estimates, Army Justification Book 3d of 3,
LRHW missiles needed to support potential combat
RDT&E, Volume II, Budget Activity 5D, March 2023, p. 179.
operations in various theaters of operations.
Procurement—DOD FY2024 Budget Estimates, Army Justification
Andrew Feickert, Specialist in Military Ground Forces
Book of Missile Procurement, March 2023, p. 80.
IF11991
https://crsreports.congress.gov
The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11991 · VERSION 11 · UPDATED