Pentagon halts development of promising hypersonic missile
The Pentagon has decided to cancel further work on the HALO missile. The hypersonic, next-generation missile was designed to provide the navy with greater capabilities than the current ones to combat enemy ships and attack land targets. The reason for the cancellation of this prospective weapon is a lack of funds.
Budget constraints are the reason the Pentagon is abandoning the HALO (Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface) missile. The next-generation weapon was supposed to arm American carrier-based aircraft starting in 2031, offering the navy new, enhanced offensive capabilities compared to the existing arsenal.
The plan was for the hypersonic HALO missile to replace the currently used subsonic AGM-158C LRASM anti-ship missiles, offering – due to its very high speed – the ability to attack distant targets much more quickly.
Before the decision to cancel the HALO programme was announced, the ability to achieve hypersonic speeds was questioned by representatives of the U.S. Navy, who argued that the new missile would reach speeds of about Mach 4, which is high but does not qualify it as a hypersonic weapon.
U.S. Navy without a "critical asset"
The U.S. Navy currently has modern LRASM anti-ship missiles. This weapon is based on the AGM-158B JASSM-ER missile, featuring reduced detectability and advanced target seeking and locating capabilities. LRASM also has a high ability to evade enemy defence systems.
These capabilities influenced the expectations for the HALO missile – its very high speed was intended not so much to penetrate the attacked ship's defence but primarily to shorten the time from launch to target striking.
According to Nawal News, the HALO missile was evaluated by the U.S. Navy as a "key component," providing the ability to efficiently counter current and anticipated future threats. The main reason for the programme's cancellation was cited as "due to budgetary constraints that prevent fielding new capability within the planned delivery schedule."
