An F-35A from the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif., recently fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile for the first time, according to an Air Force Materiel Command release. Lockheed Martin chief test pilot David Nelson fired the missile from the first F-35A test aircraft, AF-1, at 6,000 feet during a test flight over the Pacific Sea Test Range. “The shot paves the way for the F-35 to utilize the weapon’s high off-boresight and targeting capabilities, increasing lethality in the visual arena,” according to the release.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.