The latest version of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, the AIM-120D, has been declared operational by the Air Force and Navy and now the program office is looking to add new electronic-attack protections through a software upgrade recently fielded on the AIM-120C7.
The services made positive fielding decisions on the Air Force F-15 and Navy F/A-18 in January after several rounds of optional testing in 2014, according to the Air Force's Program Executive Officer for Weapons Maj. Gen. Scott Jansson.
"The assets are being fielded as we speak," Jansson said in a March 26 phone interview with Inside the Air Force. "We continue to upgrade the AMRAAM to keep up with the latest threats."
AMRAAM is produced by Raytheon in Tucson, AZ, and has been in production since 1991 as the Defense Department's primary long-range, air-to-air weapon system.
The AIM-120D is the latest and most sophisticated variant. It entered development in 2004 and has greater range, maneuverability and accuracy compared to the current version, the AIM-120C7.
The program office recently received clearance to move the AIM-120D into full production. Last week, Raytheon received a $529 million contract for Lot 29 on top of the $491 million the company received last December for Lot 28. The contracts include orders for AMRAAM foreign military sales customers that are approved to procure prior versions of the AIM-120.
According to Jansson, the AMRAAM program is in good shape. He said the focus has now shifted toward hardening the AIM-120D against new forms of electronic attack.
In February, Air Combat Command began fielding an improved AIM-120C7. The missile has software changes for electronic protection, and a similar software load will be rolled into the AIM-120D line through an Electronic Protection Improvement Program.
"That capability is out there and will be incorporated into the D-model version of the missile as well, and that helps to address some of the latest electronic-attack capabilities that some of our potential adversaries are developing," Jansson said.
"That's what we expect to see on the AMRAAM for years to come . . . to keep ahead of some of the latest developments in the electronic-attack world to keep the missile reliable and its probability of weapons effectiveness, or kill rate, up where we want it to be," he added.
Raytheon has delivered more than 1,000 AIM-120Ds, according to a recent report by the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation.
There are several science and technology projects that aim to develop a next-generation AMRAAM capability, possibly an extended-range variant or even a completely new missile. Raytheon recently announced its development of a ground-launched AMRAAM-ER for air defense.
Jansson said DOD's current program would procure the AIM-120 at least through 2024. What type of capability comes next is not yet clear, he said.
"AMRAAM itself has got a fairly long future ahead of it," he said.
The Pentagon has spent more than $13.4 billion on AMRAAM since the program's inception in the late 1980s and the balance of the program is estimated at about $5.9 billion, according to the Pentagon's Selected Acquisition Report summary table for fiscal year 2014. DOD plans to spend $664 million on AMRAAM in FY-16 and $684 million in FY-17. -- James Drew
