ERAM Missile for Ukraine Receives Official U.S. Designation

The American reference website Designation-Systems.Net has released its 2026 update, disclosing the official U.S. designations for several new missiles.

The update covers advanced systems currently undergoing testing as part of programs focused on developing affordable, mass-produced precision weapons.

Among them is the AHM-4A HACM hypersonic cruise missile developed by Raytheon. It uses a scramjet engine and can exceed Mach 5, with a reported range of up to 1,850 km. A new ‘H’ prefix was introduced specifically to identify hypersonic missiles in the U.S. designation system.

In the category of lower-cost cruise missiles, the AGM-188A Rusty Dagger developed by Zone 5 Technologies was also listed. The missile weighs about 225 kg, is powered by a turbojet engine, and has a range of more than 930 km. It was developed specifically for Ukraine under the ERAM (RAACM) program as an asymmetric solution to the shortage of more expensive weapons.

Anduril Industries has received the AGM-189A designation for its Barracuda-500 missile. This munition, with a range of over 900 km and a 45 kg warhead, is positioned as a lower-cost alternative to expensive systems such as the Tomahawk cruise missile.

Another system is the small AGM-190A Black Arrow cruise missile developed by Leidos Dynetics. Weighing just 90 kg, it has a range of up to 740 km and is designed for launch from the AC-130J Ghostrider or MQ-9 Reaper platforms.