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U.S. Army Selects Israeli HERO-90 Loitering Munition for Accelerated Infantry Anti-Armor Trials.
The U.S. Army has selected the HERO-90 loitering munition for evaluation under its LASSO program, placing the system into an accelerated assessment track for dismounted anti-armor capability. The move reflects growing urgency to give infantry units precision standoff options against armored threats revealed by recent high-intensity conflicts.
On January 16, 2026, Mistral Inc. and UVision Inc. announced that the HERO-90 loitering munition had been selected by the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office Soldier to participate in the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. The decision places the system inside an accelerated Army evaluation effort aimed at providing dismounted units with a man-portable, precision anti-armor capability. While the announcement does not represent a procurement award, it signals that HERO-90 has entered a competitive and time-sensitive pathway where operational performance, integration readiness, and deliverability could shape future acquisition decisions. The move reflects the Army’s urgency to address capability gaps exposed by recent high-intensity conflicts and increasingly complex battlefield conditions.
The U.S. Army has moved the HERO-90 loitering munition into accelerated LASSO evaluations, signaling a push to equip infantry units with a man-portable, abortable precision anti-armor capability to close a critical battlefield gap (Picture Source: Army Recognition Group)
HERO-90 is positioned as a mid-range loitering munition designed to give small units a standoff option against armored vehicles and hardened targets. The system is presented as backpack-portable, launchable by a single operator in under two minutes, and capable of loitering over the battlefield until the right engagement conditions are met. Manufacturer descriptions highlight secure beyond-line-of-sight communications, electro-optical and infrared sensors, and top-attack engagement profiles tailored for armored threats. A key feature emphasized by both companies is the ability to abort and re-engage during flight, allowing operators to delay or cancel an attack if identification changes or the tactical situation evolves.
The HERO-90 belongs to a broader family of loitering munitions developed by UVision, with this variant intended to meet the needs of dismounted forces operating without immediate access to artillery, aviation, or higher-echelon fires. For the U.S. Army context, Mistral’s role is framed around system integration and alignment with soldier-borne targeting and command-and-control architectures. The announcement stresses compatibility with a Modular Open Systems Approach and “Common Control” concepts, as well as integration with Product Manager Soldier Precision Targeting Devices. This focus addresses a recurring Army concern: avoiding the proliferation of proprietary controllers and ensuring that new capabilities fit within existing brigade-level kill chains.
Technically, HERO-90 falls within the category of man-portable, tube-launched loitering munitions intended for infantry employment. UVision’s published materials highlight capabilities such as encrypted data links, electro-optical and infrared sensors, and software-assisted functions designed to support target detection, tracking, and engagement in complex operational environments. The system is described as man-in-the-loop, with a human operator retaining full authority over the decision to engage a target. While onboard software can support flight control, stabilization, and target tracking, it does not replace human decision-making, a distinction that remains central to operational use and compliance with rules of engagement. Based on specifications publicly released by UVision, the HERO-90 is described as having a total system weight of 18 kilograms, including a 3-kilogram warhead, with a maximum range of up to 45 kilometers and an endurance of up to 40 minutes.
The broader LASSO effort provides essential context for understanding why the Army’s interest goes beyond the evaluation of a single system. LASSO is structured as a rapid capability pathway intended to field a low-altitude, precision loitering munition to infantry and special operations units on an accelerated timeline, using Other Transaction Authorities and streamlined testing cycles. Army budget documents describe LASSO as part of a wider push to modernize close-combat lethality under the Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team, alongside programs focused on next-generation squad weapons, advanced optics, and networked sensors. In recent fiscal year submissions, funding for soldier-fired precision effects, including loitering munitions, has been embedded within research, development, test, and evaluation accounts rather than traditional procurement lines, underscoring the exploratory and competitive nature of the effort.
Within the U.S. defense budget, LASSO aligns with a broader reallocation of resources toward relatively low-cost, high-impact munitions informed by lessons from Ukraine and other recent conflicts. The Army has repeatedly highlighted the cost-effectiveness of loitering munitions compared with traditional air-delivered fires, particularly when used to defeat armored vehicles, air defense assets, or fortified positions. Congressional budget justification books emphasize the need for scalable inventories that can be produced rapidly and sustained in prolonged conflicts, a factor that will likely weigh heavily in LASSO evaluations alongside pure performance metrics. Systems that demonstrate not only effectiveness but also manufacturability and supply-chain resilience are increasingly favored in the current fiscal environment.
The LASSO requirement itself sheds light on evolving Army concepts of employment. Public descriptions emphasize day-and-night capability, a man-portable fire control system, and the ability to abort an engagement mid-flight. Together, these elements point to a concept of operations that prioritizes observation, confirmation, and controlled commitment to fires. Rather than a one-time “fire and forget” weapon, LASSO seeks a precision effect that allows small units to compress sensor-to-shooter timelines while retaining human judgment at the point of use, particularly in environments where civilian presence and identification challenges are significant.
Strategically, HERO-90’s inclusion in the LASSO evaluation lane could have implications well beyond the system itself. At the tactical level, a man-portable loitering munition with an abort option can expand distributed lethality for infantry and reconnaissance units, allowing them to hold armored threats at standoff and strike only when conditions are favorable. In a European context, such capabilities complicate armored maneuver by reducing the protection offered by dead ground, brief exposure windows, and certain forms of defilade. More broadly, the Army’s willingness to evaluate multiple candidates under an accelerated pathway signals an effort to institutionalize loitering munitions as a standard element of small-unit precision fires rather than an ad hoc or niche capability.
What was announced on January 16 is therefore best understood as an entry point rather than a final decision. HERO-90 has been admitted into a competitive Army evaluation process shaped by both operational urgency and budgetary discipline, designed to move quickly from testing to potential fielding if requirements are met. Whether the system ultimately transitions from participation to procurement will depend on how it performs under realistic operational conditions, how well it integrates with existing Army architectures, and how convincingly it aligns with U.S. Army budget priorities that increasingly favor affordable, scalable precision effects. The LASSO program will determine whether HERO-90 becomes part of the Army’s future infantry toolkit or remains one of several contenders shaping the next generation of man-portable precision strike capabilities.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.