Biggest AIM-120 Missile Order Ever Just Signed By Pentagon
Both Raytheon and the U.S. Air Force declined to say how many missiles will be provided under the contract. AIM-120s can cost over $1M per example, depending on variant.
The deal for the missiles comes amid growing global tensions and the erosion of the existing AMRAAM stockpile. They can be carried by every fighter in the U.S. inventory as well as by those of most allied nations. Designed for beyond-visual-range air-to-air combat, they have also been used as surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). A product of Norway's Kongsberg Defense and Raytheon, NASAMS currently protects the U.S. Capital Region, over a dozen countries around the globe. It has been extensively battle-proven in Ukraine over nearly three years of operations.
There is a voracious appetite for these weapons.
The AMRAAMs were heavily used during the U.S. fight against Houthi drones as well as against drones over Syria and Iraq during the defense of Israel from multiple Iranian attacks. Ukraine has expended a large number of these missiles defending against Russian drones and cruise missiles via NASAMS and now its F-16 fighters, as well. These weapons came from the U.S. and NATO members.
The deal with Raytheon follows a decision last month to finally provide AMRAAMs to Egypt, ostensibly for its new NASAMS order but potentially for its F-16s as well. Egyptian F-16s never received AIM-120s, instead having to rely on AIM-7 Sparrows and AIM-9 Sidewinders due to restrictions put in place that were focused on giving Israel a qualitative edge over its neighbors. You can read all about this in our recent report here.
In addition, Thursday's award comes less than a year after Raytheon received another $1.2 billion FMS production contract for AIM-120s.
Despite the massive combat-proven success of the AMRAAM that dates back multiple decades, the U.S. is working to both improve the range and effectiveness of the missiles as well as develop improved air-to-air missiles as concerns grow about a potential conflict with China. There are signs that a new AIM-120E variant may now be in development.
Hints that work on the AIM-120E is underway came after the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) put out a notice in April regarding a sole-source contract that it had awarded to Raytheon (now formally known as RTX) earlier in March. The newest known variant of is the AIM-120D-3
In addition, the Air Force and Navy are working together on a new, longer-range air-to-air missile, the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM), details about which remain limited. There are other air-to-air missile programs — such as the AIM-174 — and initiatives in the works and development of new missiles is clearly moving forward in the classified realm, as well.
The need to massively scale-up production of the AIM-120 is glaring. While many thousands of these missiles have been built (roughly 5,000 have been tested), the expenditure on multiple fronts of the stockpile in recent years is a major problem. This is especially true as one-way attack munitions (drones that act like cruise missiles) can be produced en-masse for cheap and can chew through effectors very quickly. While more cost effective ways of downing drones are emerging, the enemy is adapting these systems to make that harder. There is also a growing threat of traditional air-to-air combat with a major power and the danger traditional cruise missiles pose is also evolving. So, the AIM-120 will continue to be a primary of taking down any air-breathing target for years to come.
All this combined with under investment in stockpiles for decades means that the U.S. and its allies are scrambling to produce enough weapons for future contingencies. These missiles are high-tech 'mini aircraft' in their own right and take a long time to build, with certain highly-specialized long-lead components being critical bottlenecks in the supply chain.
This is why we are seeing big dollars being spent now to spin-up production, especially as Ukraine and activities in the Middle East, continue to burn through allied AMRAAM stocks. The situation with Patriot missile production appears even more dire. With a possible fight over Taiwan and Russia descending into a full-on wartime economy, the hope is these large orders aren't coming too late.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
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