Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle:
Force Application and Launch from CONUS(FALCON)

The technology being assembled for this is somewhat mind-boggling: a hypersonic, autonomous (i.e. self-piloting), 9000 mi. strike range (in 2 hours!).

The demonstration common aero vehicle system will be able to fly 3,000 nautical miles in approximately 800 seconds and deliver a 1,000-pound penetrator munition. An enhanced version of this demonstration system will be able to fly 9,000 nautical miles in approximately 3,000 seconds. The common aero vehicle and its enhanced version will also be able to “turn” to hit targets up to 800 and 3,000 nautical miles, respectively, off a straight trajectory. For the most part, common aero vehicles require the same technologies as hypersonic cruise vehicles, but also need a more rigorous thermal protection system to prevent their payloads from melting at re-entry speeds as high as Mach 25. By comparison, the hypersonic cruise vehicle will return to its base at speeds of approximately Mach 3-4.

Kind of heartwarming to know that Yankee ingenuity is still at work!