In what stands as a new demonstration of its strike capabilities, a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor has conducted the longest-recorded launch of an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, carried out in the airspace over Eglin Air Force Base. According to the official statement released yesterday, the activities were supported by the manufacturer Raytheon and coordinated by the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command.
Quoting official remarks on the matter, it is useful to highlight the words of Sam Deneke, current president of Raytheon Air and Space Defense Systems: “Achieving air superiority in the future—a highly contested battlespace—depends on the precision and lethality of air-to-air missiles. The AMRAAM is already recognized as the gold standard in air dominance, and these tests demonstrate that it will continue to play a crucial role for the United States and its allies for decades to come.”
Expanding on some of the few details known, it can be mentioned that the tests were actually conducted last year, involving an AIM-120D3 missile. This weapon was specifically designed to mitigate guidance-section issues that had affected the AMRAAM family, which was beginning to show signs of obsolescence and required a redesign to remain a lethal system on modern battlefields. To that end, the USAF, together with Raytheon, launched the F3R program.
In this regard, it is worth recalling that the first recorded launch of such a missile by a U.S. Air Force aircraft took place in June 2022, marking the start of a new stage in the evaluation of the new AIM-120D3 AMRAAM. Notably, that milestone was achieved not by a stealth F-22, but by an F-15E Strike Eagle of the 53rd Wing. On that occasion, the weapon demonstrated its capability by downing a full-scale QF-16 aerial target, also over Eglin Air Force Base.
Looking ahead, the missile’s manufacturer expects that with the success of the ongoing AIM-120D3 AMRAAM tests, production of additional batches will proceed, ensuring the family remains one of the most widely used by the U.S. Air Force and multiple allies. In this sense, they emphasized that the missile is currently integrated with 14 different platforms, operated in more than 43 countries, and boasts a track record of over 6,000 successful launches.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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