General Atomics joins Army-Navy hypersonic glide body production

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems will build parts for the hypersonic glide body used by the U.S. Army's Dark Eagle and the U.S. Navy's Conventional Prompt Strike weapons under a multiyear subcontract with Leidos that runs through 2031, the company said on Nov. 4. The San Diego-based company will produce precision-machined parts and cable assemblies for the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, the maneuvering warhead section shared by both services' missiles. The glide body is the part of the weapon that separates from the rocket booster and travels to the target at hypersonic speed, more than five times the speed of sound, while maneuvering to avoid defenses. Using one common design lets the Army fire it from truck-mounted launchers on land and the Navy fire it from ships and submarines. GA-EMS did not disclose the value of the subcontract. Its work falls under a larger Leidos contract with the Army, which in May combined the glide body and its heat shield, known as the Thermal Protection System, into a single production contract worth $2.7 billion. Leidos has been the prime contractor for the glide body since 2019 and for the heat shield since 2021. GA-EMS has worked on the glide body before. It built prototype subassemblies and supplied hardware and cables for the 2020 flight test of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, and the company says that experience will guide its production work. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems illustration "Our continued collaboration with Leidos reinforces our role as a trusted source of high-quality critical components for hypersonic weapons. This agreement carries forward our prototype manufacturing and flight-test experience into component production through 2031, supporting the fielding of Army and Navy long-range strike capabilities for demanding national security missions," said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. The company's work covers cable assemblies for the glide body and its Elevon Control Module, which moves the control surfaces that steer the glide body in flight, along with machined metal parts and substructures. "Our expertise spans cable assemblies for the Elevon Control Module and hypersonic glide body, along with precision-machined metal parts and substructures. For our customer, this combination brings continuity across electrical and mechanical manufacturing from a team familiar with the program's exacting requirements. We apply that knowledge to maintain precision and repeatability throughout production," said Mike Rucker, vice president of GA-EMS Weapons Programs. Both services have been testing the shared weapon for years, including joint Army and Navy flight tests, and the Army has bought more missiles through a Navy-led deal. The Army's first Dark Eagle unit, the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force, took the system to Australia in 2025, and this summer the Army showed it on Guam during the Valiant Shield exercise, a move that put parts of China within the weapon's roughly 3,500 km (2,175-mile) reach, Stars and Stripes reported. The Defence Blog had earlier reported that the U.S. Army deployed the new hypersonic missile to Guam. The program has also faced setbacks, and the Army missed an earlier deadline to field Dark Eagle. The GA-EMS subcontract covers component production through 2031.