Amid what has become a problematic U.S. government shutdown that has already been prolonged, members of the House Armed Services Committee have begun to state that the situation has delayed the development of the new AIM-260 long-range air-to-air missile by a full quarter — a weapon intended to restore a technological advantage to the U.S. Air Force and Navy over current Chinese arsenals in terms of range. The news is part of a fact sheet distributed by the Republican members of that committee, which was published on October 24 and outlines what are considered the main problems resulting from the cited government shutdown.
Quoting a passage that refers to this matter: “There has been a three-month delay in the deployment of the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) program of the Air Force, which is fundamental to our air combat capabilities. The JATM is necessary to reach China, which has far outpaced the United States in the ability to strike important targets with ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles.”
The document also notes that as long as the shutdown continues, the different U.S. forces are being impeded from advancing with new exercises or contracts (and renewals of existing ones) for acquiring combat capabilities for the troops. According to analysts from specialized U.S. media, this could be one of the main causes that have affected the development of the JATM missile; however, it is not entirely clear how what has been a four-week shutdown so far has delayed the program by three months. From the Air Force’s side, a spokesperson limited themselves to saying that work in this area is “protected by enhanced security measures.”
At this point, it is important to recall that the development of the JATM missile has been marked by a high level of secrecy that limits public knowledge about its main characteristics and innovations. To date, it is known that the project is intended to be the primary successor to the current AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, and it is expected to roughly double their range while remaining compatible with the platforms and systems currently used by the aforementioned services. Furthermore, it can be said that the main objective of the new weapon is to outperform the modern PL-15 and PL-17 models fielded by the Chinese Air Force, which reports indicate exceed the AMRAAM in range.
It is also worth noting that the USAF had already been experiencing difficulties coordinating the JATM’s development alongside current-year munitions acquisitions to equip its aircraft, given new budget readjustments affecting various U.S. military programs. This issue was briefly addressed by the recently confirmed head of the service, General Kenneth Wilsbach, who stated: “Coordinating acquisitions annually can be difficult when balancing the competing priorities of next-generation munitions with the current year’s procurement.”
To local experts, this in turn reflects differences regarding when the Navy and the Air Force intend to adopt the new JATM missile, especially considering that the Navy is also working on an air-to-air variant of the SM-6 missile, currently known as the AIM-174B “Gunslinger.” That missile would also have greater range than the current AIM-120 AMRAAM, but would lack a high degree of maneuverability or electronic measures to avoid being affected by modern targets’ countermeasures, and its dimensions would make it incompatible with fifth-generation fighters.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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