The Pentagon is advancing hypersonic weapons programs even as projected per-missile costs for some systems remain far above those of established weapons, according to figures cited from the Government Accountability Office and military budget documents.
The GAO estimates a missile for the Army’s Dark Eagle long-range hypersonic system could cost more than $40 million. Its estimate for a missile associated with the Navy’s Zumwalt destroyer program is $70 million, including development and technology integration. The GAO also reports that the destroyer modernization effort is two years behind schedule. By comparison, the source lists Tomahawks at about $2.6 million, Patriot missiles at nearly $4 million and Precision Strike Missiles at $1.6 million each.
The military is also backing efforts to expand production and testing. Castelion says its Blackbeard hypersonic weapon costs less than $500,000 and is designed for mass production. The company began construction this year on a factory it describes as the largest U.S. facility dedicated to hypersonic weapons, with a planned capacity of thousands of weapons annually. The source says the Army and Navy are investing in Blackbeard, with potential integration on aircraft, Army launch systems and unmanned surface vessels.
Rocket Lab is working with the War Department on hypersonic testing. Its HASTE vehicle, derived from the company’s Electron rocket, is a suborbital test platform intended to provide more frequent and lower-cost flight tests, company representatives said.
Experts cited in the report noted that hypersonic weapons’ speed and maneuverability may complicate defenses, but also raised concerns about cost, accuracy and how an adversary might interpret a launch. The source says the U.S. military has not used a hypersonic weapon. An analyst questioned whether the limited number of missiles and concerns about stockpiles would support extensive use.
