OpFires

OpFires — the Operational Fires program — was a DARPA effort to develop a ground-launched intermediate-range hypersonic weapon system capable of rapidly and precisely engaging time-sensitive targets at ranges that previously required strategic assets. The missile uses a novel throttleable two-stage solid-rocket propulsion system that manages energy at the motor rather than by flight-path shaping, enabling variable engagement ranges from a single weapon.

Lockheed Martin was selected as weapon system integrator in 2020 and conducted the first successful flight test in July 2022 from White Sands Missile Range, launching from a U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Vehicle System Replacement truck. DARPA transitioned OpFires to the U.S. Army in 2023, where it is being evaluated as a complementary system to the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (Dark Eagle) and the Precision Strike Missile across theater-range fires formations.

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