Leidos lands $2.7B Dark Eagle production contract
Soldiers at a Dark Eagle demonstration in 2025. Defense Department
By
Nick Wakeman
The Army transitions the hypersonic weapon from other transaction authority to a more traditional contract structure in a push to accelerate fielding.
The Defense Department has shifted the Dark Eagle long-range hypersonic weapon to a full-production contract with Leidos at a $2.7 billion ceiling, following years of prototype work on the system.
Dark Eagle is a joint research-and-development effort for the Army and Navy, while DOD says the capability has achieved a significant leap.
"This acquisition was different from a typical contract because it was a joint effort between the Army and Navy, and [it] combined both research and development and production under a single effort," Paul Daugherty, a contracting officer with the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, said in a release.
The new contract unifies the Thermal Protection Shield and Common Hypersonic Glide Body programs. The idea is to streamline development and accelerate delivery to warfighters.
Leidos will work with DOD to reduce production timelines and support a reliable supply of components to meet operational demands. The company’s offerings in hypersonics include guidance systems, sensor technologies and precision munitions integration.
“This contract is a major step forward in delivering hypersonic capabilities to the warfighter at speed,” Leidos Defense President Cindy Gruensfelder. “Our team is committed to supporting the Army and Navy in producing this critical operational capability.”
The new contract is the first production award for the common hypersonic glide body program and moves from an other transaction authority mechanism to a contract under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Army said.
"This development and production contract provides the Army and Navy the ability to achieve optimized pricing across base and option years, allowing the government to buy to budget while maximizing every taxpayer dollar," said Vince Dickens, Army command branch chief of hypersonic missile and counter-unmanned aerial systems.
Because the production contract was not competed, the DOD acquisition team worked with the Defense Contract Management Agency and Defense Contract Audit Agency to determine fair and reasonable pricing.
"The close partnership across contracting, pricing and stakeholders was critical to delivering a successful outcome for the warfighter,” Dicken said.
Leidos, through its Dynetics subsidiary, has worked on Thermal Protection Shield program since 2021 and the Common Hypersonic Glide Body program since 2019.