STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. special operations forces flying over the Arctic on Wednesday rolled a long-range missile out the back of a C-130 aircraft, dropping it by parachute before it blasted toward its target in the distance.
The operation marked the first-ever demonstration in Europe of Rapid Dragon, an experimental program that uses standard air drop procedures to launch air-to-surface cruise missiles.
“It puts this thing within range of Russia. We are intentionally trying to be provocative without being escalatory,” Special Operations Command Europe’s Lt. Col. Lawrence Melnicoff told Stars and Stripes ahead of Wednesday’s launch. “We’re trying to deter Russian aggression, expansionist behavior, by showing enhanced capabilities of the allies.”
The missile launch, carried out inside the Arctic Circle at Norway’s Andoya Space Range, also showcases how allies can muscle up by mixing and matching weapons systems in new ways, Melnicoff said.
It was the culmination of the Stuttgart-based SOCEUR’s demonstration of American and allied units’ ability to rapidly mobilize and deliver long-range precision fire over great distances.
The Norway exercise coincided with drills in Poland and Romania. They’re all part of U.S. European Command’s Atreus program, which aims to expand military options for allies.
Similar missions have been held in the Baltics and Romania involving aircraft loaded with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, which are flown to landing zones and offloaded for quick-strike targeting.
Such operations are connected to planning for the worst-case scenario in the event Russia were to take aim at allied military hubs in Europe, said Melnicoff, who oversees Atreus for SOCEUR.
“It complicates Russian decision-making because we know that they’re targeting very, very large specific aggregations of allied power, ... Ramstein Air Base, RAF Lakenheath, things like that,” Melnicoff said. “We’re survivable. If worse comes to worst and somebody takes out these power hubs, we can forward-project precision artillery fire across the alliance with our partners.”
#BREAKING video from 352nd Special Operations Wing successful test fire of a palletized Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). Successful extraction of deployment box, release of JASSM with wing extension, and motor engagement during exercise #ATREUS22 #SOFinEurope pic.twitter.com/3hLcXDJ3bl — US Spec Ops Europe (@US_SOCEUR) November 9, 2022
The Rapid Dragon concept has the attention of several allies, including Poland. While other allies don’t have long-range bomber strike capabilities like the U.S., they can mimic some of those effects by loading long-range missiles onto cargo aircraft.
The Red Dragon system uses a steel cage and can be loaded with Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles, which have a range of up to 1,200 miles depending on the variant.
“The way it works is it drops out of cargo aircraft like a heavy equipment air drop, so it’s completely a roll-on, roll-off package,” Melnicoff said.
After rolling out, the cage stabilizes under parachutes. Then a sling gate opens and the missiles drop out.
The system also has the potential to be paired with other types of materiel, including hypersonic weapons and swarm drones, Melnicoff said.
The concept was developed by the Air Force, which has been experimenting with the idea for the past couple of years.
Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, head of U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, said experimenting with new ways to strike targets is key to preparing for an unpredictable future.
“AFSOC’s greatest value to the joint force, as well as allies and partners, is when we find unconventional ways to deliver airpower,” Slife said Wednesday in a statement. “The future is going to be different than what we have experienced for the last 20 years.”
DobbsMT on November 11st, 2022 at 15:09 UTC »
One of the interesting things about this capability is that it was primarily developed for the pacific. Where long distances limit the amount of strike aircraft we can sustain in the air and, subsequently, the number of weapons we can launch.
It's a great concept and a potent force multiplier.
What I find funny about this particular test is that we wouldn't even need to use this capability if Russia made a move against NATO. They've already demonstrated their ineptitude and would get absolutely wrecked by conventional NATO forces.
rachel_tenshun on November 11st, 2022 at 03:20 UTC »
Whoa. It's already being deployed? This system is absolutely nasty, and is probably going to change the way the US arms its allies going forward (assuming they work well).
Strongbow85 on November 11st, 2022 at 01:34 UTC »
Submission Statement: Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. special operations forces marked the first-ever demonstration in Europe of "Rapid Dragon". A C-130 aircraft flying over the arctic in Norway's Andoya Space Range dropped a long-range air to surface cruise missile before striking a target. As part of the U.S. European Command's Atreus program, intended to expand military options for allies, the operation plans for worst-case scenarios in the event that Russia were to neutralize military hubs in Europe. This allows the United States to rapidly mobilize and effectively strike Russia if large aggregations of allied air power were eliminated.