Raytheon has completed a key step in developing the latest variant of the AMRAAM medium-range air to air missile with the shooting down of a QF-4 target drone. The AIM-120D fired by a US Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet on 22 May failed to score a direct impact on the target aircraft, but by passing "well within lethal range", the missile destroyed the drone, Raytheon says.
Key details of the test parameters, including distance and angle to target, have not been disclosed.
The AIM-120D, developed by the US Air Force and USN in parallel with China's PL-12 missile programme, is needed to extend the envelope and range of the AMRAAM missile.
Jim Knox, Raytheon's AMRAAM programme director, suggests that the AIM-120D exceeds the performance of the PL-12 and other comparable air to air missiles. "There is no missile in development or in any air force's inventory that can even come close to matching what the AIM-120D can do," he says.
Hardware changes in 2006, including a redesign of the two-way datalink, caused the programme to be delayed by 15 months.
The weapon will be fielded first by the USN in 2010 on the F/A-18E/F, followed by the USAF later in the year. The air force plans to integrate the AIM-120D with the Boeing F-15 and two Lockheed Martin aircraft - the F-16 and F-22A.
Separately, Raytheon has also received a $412 million contract to deliver AIM-120C7 and AIM-120D missiles in 2010 and 2011 to US and foreign customers. The AIM-120C7 is the only version on offer to the overseas market.
The upgrades for the AIM-120D include new guidance software to improve the missile's kinematic performance. Guidance is also improved by introducing GPS-aided navigation. A two-way datalink is also added to allow the missile to send targeting data back to the fighter before impact, a key feature to enable a beyond visual range attack.
Source: Flight International
