The ArcLight program is a missile development program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency with the goal of equipping ships like Aegis cruisers with a weapon system that is capable of striking targets nearly anywhere on the globe, thereby increasing the power of surface ships to a level comparable to that of ballistic missile-equipped submarines.[1]
According to DARPA, the ArcLight program will develop a high-tech missile based on the booster stack of the current RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 and equipped with a hypersonic glider capable of carrying a 100-200 lb warhead.[2] The configuration will allow ships carrying the ArcLight missile to strike targets 2,300 miles away from the launch point. The missile would replace the aging BGM-109 Tomahawk and could be fired out of the standard vertical launchers available on many surface ships.[1] Additionally, the ArcLight missile will be capable of launch from air and submarine assets capable of carrying the BGM-109.[2]
Dr. Arthur Mabbett is the program manager of the DARPA project,[2] which will develop and test two different missile designs.[3]