The Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO) is a hypersonic air-launched anti-ship missile being developed for the United States Navy.[1] It is designed to provide greater anti-surface warfare capability than the AGM-158C LRASM and is expected to be compatible with F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.[2] The initial operational capability is expected in 2028.[3][2] The program is also called the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 2 (OASuW Inc 2) program.[3]
| Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO) | |
|---|---|
| Type | Hypersonic air-launched anti-ship missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | In development |
| Used by | United States Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Raytheon Missiles & Defense Lockheed Martin |
| Specifications | |
Launch platform | F/A-18E/F Super Hornet |
On 28 March 2023, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded a $116 million contract to Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Lockheed Martin for technical maturation and development through a preliminary design review of the propulsion system. The contract is slated to begin in December 2024, with each company's initial design review working towards a prototype flight test.[4]
However, at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space conference's April 2023, Rear Admiral Stephen Tedford, Program Executive Officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons at NAVAIR, said that HALO might be "a little bit of a misnomer" because it might not reach hypersonic speeds.[5] Tedford said that HALO may reach only supersonic speeds, (high Mach 4-plus) rather than hypersonic speeds (over Mach 5).[5]
See also
edit- Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile – (United States)
- 3M22 Zircon – (Russia)
- Multi-mission Affordable Capacity Effector – (United States)
References
edit- ^ Katz, Justin (27 April 2022). "Navy's next-gen, ship-killing missile will be a hypersonic weapon dubbed HALO". Breaking Defense. New York City: Breaking Media.
- ^ a b "U.S. Hypersonic Weapons and Alternatives". Congressional Budget Office. January 2023.
- ^ a b R45811: Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service (updated February 13, 2023).
- ^ "Navy moves forward with hypersonic, carrier-based weapon". Naval Air Systems Command. 27 March 2023.
- ^ a b Harper, Jon (3 April 2023). "Navy's future HALO 'hypersonic' missile might not actually be hypersonic". Defensescoop. Scoop News Group.