<span style="font-weight: 400;">The U.S. Navy has officially cancelled its Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (HALO) missile program. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Capt. Ron Flanders, a Navy spokesperson said the program, also known as Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 2 (OASuW Inc 2), was cancelled in late 2024 due to budgetary constraints.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">“The Navy cancelled the solicitation for the Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) effort in fall 2024 due to budgetary constraints that prevent fielding new capability within the planned delivery schedule,” said Flanders.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">HALO was first proposed in 2021 as a long-range, hypersonic missile designed to target enemy warships from standoff distances. The missile was planned for use on F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, with potential adaptation to ships and submarines later on.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Initial development contracts were awarded in 2023 to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Both companies were believed to be working on designs using advanced propulsion systems like ramjets or scramjets.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">HALO's cancellation follows the U.S. Air Force's decision to end the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) program, another hypersonic project that faced technical and cost challenges.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead of HALO, Flanders said the Navy will continue investing in proven systems like the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), a stealthy subsonic missile derived from the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM).</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">“The Navy is committed to its investment in Long Range Fires to meet National Defense objectives, with priority emphasis on fielding continued capability improvements to the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM),” Flanders said.</span>
