Raytheon, a division of defense giant RTX, recently announced a multiyear deal with the Pentagon to increase annual production of the Air Force’s primary dogfighting missile by more than 50 percent from two years ago.
air-to-air missiles
The Air Force is poised to begin evaluating a new class of low-cost missiles needed to defeat the rapid growth of aerial threats it’s likely to face in the next conflict.
The ongoing government shutdown has not slowed progress on the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a congressional official said, correcting a previous statement from lawmakers about the secretive program.
The Air Force is studying whether a large flying wing-type stealth aircraft armed with dozens of air-to-air missiles could be an element of its future air superiority force, sources told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The AIM-120 AMRAAM will likely be the complement to the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a Raytheon executive said. He characterized the JATM as an expensive, "kick-down-the-door" weapon, while he argued that AMRAAM is the more affordable missile to be used in larger quantities.
A detailed guide to the aircraft, aerial target systems, weapons systems, and satellite systems in USAF and USSF inventory.
The Air Force is seeking industry input on a new class of air-to-air missiles, which would be faster and longer-ranged than the AIM-120 and AIM-9X that currently equip its fighter fleet. It's not clear, though, how the new weapons would join a portfolio where there ...