US Air Force, Navy seek $1.3b to buy secret Lockheed missile
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The AIM-260 ultra-long-range, air-to-air missile is designed to fit in the internal weapons bays of the F-35 fighter.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – Months after Pakistan used a Chinese-made, ultra-long-range missile to shoot down Indian fighters, US Air Force and Navy funding requests show they may soon get their own advanced weapon after eight years of development: the Lockheed Martin AIM-260.
The service branches have asked for nearly US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) for the 2026 fiscal year, which starts on Oct 1, to begin producing the classified system, according to budget documents and a service statement.
The Air Force, which is leading development of the AIM-260, or Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, requested US$368 million for first-time production, plus US$300 million in a separate annual “Unfunded Priorities List” the military services submit to congressional defence committees. The Navy has asked for US$301 million.
Analysts at Melius Research said in 2024 the missile could become a US$30 billion programme depending on how many missiles are produced – a much-needed boon for Lockheed Martin on the heels of a second-quarter earnings report that flagged US$1.6 billion in charges and a potential US$4.6 billion tax accounting liability.
Minimising its losses while ramping up manufacturing on the new, long-range weapon is pivotal for Lockheed.
The F-35 fighter, the defence giant’s largest source of revenue, is at peak production rates, and the company has lost out on several high-profile programmes, most recently the stealthy F-47 fighter jet to Boeing
“Profitable growth at MFC is extremely important for Lockheed Martin,” Melius analyst Scott Mikus said of the company’s missiles and fire control division. “It is Lockheed’s highest-margin segment and should be its fastest-growing segment due to the strong domestic and international demand.”
“The key will be can they limit or avoid future charges on the classified missile programme, which is believed to be the AIM-260,” he added.
Most advanced
When it is eventually fielded – the Air Force will not say when – the weapon will become the most advanced US air-to-air missile, a role long held by increasingly sophisticated versions of the RTX, AIM-120 Amraam, which was introduced in 1993.
The Air Force declined to say what developments gave the service confidence to move into production now.
Air-launched weapons that can shoot down planes at extreme ranges came into the spotlight in May, when Pakistani jets used Chinese-made PL-15 missiles
MBDA’s Meteor, which has similar capabilities, has been available for nearly a decade but not used in combat.
“Our potential adversaries have witnessed our ability to provide air superiority, and US competitors have evolved in response,” the Air Force said in a statement. “An air-to-air missile capable of defeating advanced threat systems is essential to maintaining US air superiority.”
In the 2024 annual report on Chinese military power, the Pentagon said the Chinese air force had likely declared the PL-17 air-to-air missile operational in 2023, saying the PL-15 follow-on “is believed to be able to strike targets from 400km”.
The new US missile “will have increased range over existing air-to-air weapons and will be effective in a variety of threat scenarios”, the Air Force said.
A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said in 2023 that the AIM-120 model supplied to his country has a range of about 160km.
The weapon would add to Lockheed Martin’s line of US-fielded missiles, including the latest model Patriot interceptor, the Thaad system, and LRASM anti-ship and JASSM cruise missiles.
Skunk works
The AIM-260 is designed to fit in the internal weapons bays of the F-22 and F-35 fighters, but the Air Force said it would also be integrated with F-16 and F-15 jets.
Former Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown told a Senate Armed Services committee panel in March 2023 the missile also might be installed on the service’s new unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft, which is now in test flights.
Over the past 15 years, the Air Force, Navy and Defence Advance Research Projects Agency – which explores novel weapons technology – have spent more than US$350 million on rocket motors, warhead development and a programme called TR3.
This programme investigated advances in propulsion, advanced networking, guidance and control algorithms, engine power and “thermal management, and packaging and interfaces for carriage” on fifth-generation fighters, the Air Force said.
The service branch declined to disclose the production contract details, including whether the company would share cost overruns.
Lockheed Martin first received the classified development contract for the missile in August 2017. Two years later, then-Air Force Weapons Programme executive officer Brigadier-General Anthony Genatempo said the service hoped to field the missile by 2022.
This week, the Air Force declined to say when the AIM-260 would be operational, saying each service branch would use “specific criteria” to determine that. BLOOMBERG
