AIM-260

[DrainBamage]

DoD is finally talking about the replacement for AIM-120.
Meet The AIM-260, The Air Force And Navy's Future Long-Range Air-To-Air Missile

This would be the first brand new US AA missile since AIM-120 was introduced almost 30 years ago. Still not much detail:
- Joint USAF & USN project
- Has been in development for 2 years
- Scheduled for flight testing in 2021, Initial operational testing 2022
- Significant increase in range compared to AIM-120
- Similar form factor AIM-120
- Will not use ramjet engine like Meteor
- Better networking
- First aircraft will be F-22 and F-18-E/F, followed by F-35.
- Possible dual mode seeker?

It's curious the longer legs than AMRAAM in same size. AIM-120D is already a 100 mile missile with much more range than AIM-120C, but that was mostly achieved through software with missile taking an efficient predictive ballistic path to target, they weren't squeezing any more range out of same hardware. Article did point out some newer generations have achieved much greater range through advances in technology enabling miniaturization of component, like with JASSM-ER and AARGM. JASSM-ER has same form factor as JASSM, has same payload, but more than twice the range.

Dual mode seeker is just speculation but would be interesting because that might be the end of AIM-9 Sidewinder right along with AIM-120. A missile that could rely on a combination of imaging infrared and active radar in one package would have the very difficult to beat with soft countermeasures and get the benefits of both. It would make sense as multi-mode seekers have become more common, latest smart bomb SDB-2 has a tri-mode and is supposed to be able to hit a zig-zagging high speed pickup truck through fog.

 

[harmonica]

.....won't they need some type of new '''IFF''' technology since in PG1, they didn't have permission to fire BVR/etc?

different capabilities onboard to go after that specific threat set, but certainly longer legs."

...AIM 120 range 20 -30nm?

but this would seem to suggest that the U.S. military is concerned that it may be close to matching, or even exceeding, the range of the latest AIM-120D variant. Raw range, of course, isn't the only factor in air-to-air combat and the AIM-120D has a host of other advanced features,

..I thought when I researched the long range Phoenix missile, it failed on it's combat use
by the US?
..used in the Iran-Iraq war--but at what range?

: it never hit a target in combat, and the only missiles ever fired in anger by American fighters either failed or missed the target.

AIM-54 "Phoenix" - Air Cache - Air and Space Portal
..but, of course, this was long ago and technology advances everyday.....

 

[DrainBamage]

...AIM 120 range 20 -30nm?

AIM-120D greatly increased the range of the missile. The exact range is classified but most estimates put it at up to 100nm.

AIM-120D AMRAAM
Max Range: 180 kilometer (97 nautical mile)

AIM-120 AMRAAM - Wikipedia
• AIM-120A/B: 55–75 km (30–40 nmi)
• AIM-120C-5: >105 km (>57 nmi)
• AIM-120D (C-8): >160 km (>86 nmi)

..I thought when I researched the long range Phoenix missile, it failed on it's combat use by the US?

AIM-54 was designed in the 60s. AIM-7 Sparrow, another missile of that era, shared a pretty dismal performance history. However seekers improve, fuses improve, software improves, etc. More importantly it's' becoming more networked warfare in the skies, where missiles will no longer rely on the launching platform to be the aircraft that is finding/tracking/targeting. They have demonstrated that aircraft can guide SM-6s launched from ships, and pilots work on tactics involving cooperative targeting and tracking.

Think one F-35 staying completely passive while another 20 miles away uses AESA radar in LPI, they share data so even if opposing aircraft detect the one emitting RF (while it detects them) they might now see the other one flying silent that receives exact same radar data from partner, and what you don't see is what kills you. Longer range missiles are also useful for missile truck scenarios, an F-22 or F-35 doing the targeting while a non-stealthy F-15 or F-18 carrying 12+ missiles is doing the slinging from 50 miles away.

 

[DrainBamage]

From the big to the small...

Raytheon’s New Peregrine Missile: Smaller, Faster, More Maneuverable

The company says that Peregrine will have at least as much reach as an AMRAAM and the maneuverability of a Sidewinder, but in a package just six feet long and weighing only 150 pounds. The AIM-120 is around 12 feet in length and tips the scales at around 345 pounds. "Peregrine will allow U.S. and allied fighter pilots to carry more missiles into battle to maintain air dominance," Dr. Thomas Bussing, the Vice President of Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems, said in a statement. "With its advanced sensor, guidance and propulsion systems packed into a much smaller airframe, this new weapon represents a significant leap forward in air-to-air missile development."


In addition to the smaller size there is talk of a mult-mode seeker:

The guidance system is tri-mode, according to FlightGlobal, but Raytheon would not say what functionalities it has exactly. A combination of the radar homing capabilities of the AIM-120 with the imaging infrared seeker of the AIM-9X would be the most likely options. This would offer an alternative means of finding the target in the event of electronic warfare jamming during the terminal phase of the missile's flight. It similarly could rely on the radar seeker if the target's defensive countermeasures blinded or confused its infrared optics. The third method of operation could be a capability to actively home in on a target's electromagnetic emissions, such as those from its own radar. A data-link, which it will absolutely have, will only add to the missile's range and ability to more easily kill targets at closer ranges. You can read all about how a data-link and lock-on-after-launch capability enhances an air-to-air missile's capabilities dramatically in this previous piece of ours.


If information is accurate on AIM-260 being same size as AIM-120 and Peregrine being half size, one could imagine when the new sidekick launched is implemented for F-35 (carrying six AMRAAMs internally) it could someday instead fly with an internal loadout of four AIM-260s and four Peregrines.