Latest AMRAAM Cleared for Deployment; Multiyear Buy Bridges the Gap to JATM
21 Apr 2023 John A. Tirpak
The latest version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM, the Air Force’s primary air-to-air weapon, has been cleared for fleet deployment later this year, according to Raytheon, the missile’s builder. The Air Force is planning a multiyear procurement of the missile to bridge the gap until its successor, the highly classified AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, is in production at scale, according to service leaders and fiscal 2024 budget request documents.
The AIM-120D-3 has completed the Air Force’s “Functional Configuration Audit” and is “on track toward fielding by both the Air Force and Navy this year,” Raytheon said in a press release. The upgrade program that keeps the AMRAAM capable of dealing with advanced threats is known as the Form, Fit, Function Refresh, or F3R.
The D-3 version of the missile includes 15 upgraded circuit cards and uses the latest software available, the company said.
“The missile brings tremendous capability to counter both current and future threats and is postured to receive continuous agile software enhancements,” the company said. The Functional Configuration Audit included bench testing, captive carry flights, and live fires from multiple USAF and Navy platforms, Raytheon noted. An FCA of an exportable version, the AIM-120 C-8 variant, will be completed later this year.
Air Force 2024 budget documents state the AIM-120D variant “delivers improved performance via Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided navigation; two way datalink capability for enhanced aircrew survivability and improved network compatibility; and incorporates new guidance software that improves kinematic performance and weapon effectiveness.”
The AIM-120 is used on “14 platforms in 42 countries,” Raytheon noted in its release. All future AMRAAM production will consist of D3 or C8 variants...
...The JATM was revealed at a 2019 industry conference by the program executive officer for armaments at that time, Brig. Gen. (now Maj. Gen.) Anthony Genatempo, now the PEO for command, control, communications and networks. The JATM has significantly longer range than AMRAAM and addresses the longer range of threat missiles, like China’s advanced PL-15, which has a longer reach than AMRAAM.
Moore said JATM is still progressing, and some of the facilitization funding requested for AMRAAM in the 2024 budget “will help us to get to JATM faster.”
Once JATM, made by Lockheed Martin, goes into production, he said, “we’ll get to quantity as fast as we can.”
The AMRAAM’s funding decline in the latter part of the decade may suggest the timing of the Air Force’s ramp-up in JATM production, likely with some overlap.
Budget documents say the Air Force is “initiating a Multiyear Procurement (MYP) strategy for AMRAAM; JASSM; LRASM; and Standard Missile-6, under the Large Lot Procurement (LLP) concept.
...The Air Force buys AMRAAM for itself and the Navy.
www.airandspaceforces.com
www.rusi.org
www.defensenews.com
demokraatti.fi
www.aamulehti.fi
www.patriagroup.com
