The United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has publicly unveiled a new cruise missile. The AGM-190A small cruise missile is also known as ‘Havoc Spear.’

The announcement regarding the small cruise missile was made at the Special Operations Forces Week conference. It marks a key step in the AFSOC’s Enhanced Precision Effects (EPE) efforts – an initiative set to equip adaptable weapon systems capable of delivering long-range, precise, kinetic and non-kinetic effects.

The US Special Operations Command had been spearheading the project to make a low-cost, mission-adaptable, modular-design cruise missile that can be rapidly produced. To accelerate the development of Havoc Spear, AFSOC and US SOCOM entered into a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with an industry partner to develop the missile.

Havoc Spear – developed in less than 3 years

The partnership enabled the cruise missile to be designed, tested, and evaluated in combat in less than three years’ time, as opposed to the development programs for other weapons, which typically take between five and seven years.

“The primary value of this system is its modularity which provides expanded standoff options for commanders to neutralize a range of threats,” said Lt. Gen. Mike Conley, commander of AFSOC, according to a press release. “Our modernization efforts with EPE will integrate all-domain effects across our platforms, firmly planting special operations forces into the Joint Force kill chain.”

US Navy Adm. Frank Bradley, commander of US SOCOM, mentioned in his SOF keynote address that CRADAs were the driving force in Havoc Spear’s production cycle. “The technology was there, what we needed was the venue to move fast and take calculated, manageable risks,” said Bradley.

The name Havoc Spear had been chosen by Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink during a visit to the AFSOC headquarters in November 2025. The name stands for capabilities descriptor of widespread destruction via mass attack (Havoc) and precision targeting from afar (Spear).

The missile’s adaptable strike capabilities will be used by the Air Force to support specialized airpower requirements for Joint Force partners in US SOCOM, as well as tackling the Air Force’s most critical missions. The press release goes on to add that “Havoc Spear’s capability will create dilemmas for adversaries, enhance lethality, and reinforce AFSOC’s commitment to maintain a decisive advantage against emerging threats across all domains.”

Testing the small cruise missile

The US SOC plans to test the AC-130J Ghostrider with the AGM-190A Havoc Spear Small Cruise Missile and AESA radar. The combination of the missile and the radar could give the aircraft a 400-nautical-mile (460 mile) class stand-off strike capability.

According to reports, Havoc Spear is a 200-pound-class, mission-adaptable weapon that demonstrated a standoff range of more than 400 nautical miles. Its modular hardware and open-system software are intended to support later mission changes.

More details, such as the warhead size carried by the cruise missile, the seeker’s capabilities, and more, are yet to be made public by the company and government authorities.