Army selects commander for first hypersonic battery

The Army has selected a commander for its first hypersonic missile battery, the service's chief of staff said March 25.

"We've picked the commander, we're putting the team together," Gen. James McConville said during a virtual talk with the Brookings Institution. "That battery will be fielded in 2023, and that is going to be part of our multidomain task force."

The first hypersonic missile battery will have eight missiles, the Army said last year. The service has prioritized the development of the weapons, which are expected to be able to neutralize an enemy country's anti-access/area-denial capabilities.

The first of five multidomain task forces was created in 2017, and it focuses on the Indo-Pacific region. Eventually, there will be two task forces for the Indo-Pacific, one each for Europe, the Arctic and global response, according to a paper the Army released March 23.

McConville did not say who the commander will be, just that the commander has been chosen.

During the talk, McConville mentioned long-range precision fires first when he was asked which of the Army's six modernization priorities are most important.