US Navy unveils AIM-424 "Malice" very long-range air-to-air missile

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Big news has broken out of the Tailhook Association’s convention in Reno, Nevada this weekend. The Navy has disclosed the existence of an all-new very long-range air-to-air missile, the AIM-424 “Malice.” An image released by the Navy taken last April shows a Super Hornet from Navy Air Test And Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) loaded with four of the weapons. Another image shows the missile installed in an F-35C’s weapons bay.

The news of the new missile was first reported by our friends Brian Everstine and Steve Trimble over at Aviation Week .

The AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM), which is already deep in testing, is meant to arm F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-35C Joint Strike Fighters and the upcoming F/A-XX next-generation naval fighter. The missile is clearly larger and significantly farther-reaching than the long-serving AIM-120 AMRAAM and the new AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile , which shares the AIM-120’s general mold-line. It isn’t known where Malice slots in next to the very far-reaching AIM-174B “Gunslinger,” which was adapted from the Navy’s surface-launched SM-6 . According to Aviation Week , the missile is a two-stage design, which should result in extreme range and very high-speed.

AIM-424 test instrumentation round loaded into a weapons bay of an F-35. (USN)

The Pentagon has been interested in multi-stage air-to-air missiles for years and is now floating the goal of developing extreme-range air-to-air weapons that can reach out to the 1,000-mile mark in the years to come. This number is seen as critical to surviving future enemy anti-access capabilities of equal reach and to take advantage of very long-distance kill chains that will dominate future combat.

In addition, closing the air-to-air missile gap, specifically with China , and attempting to leap significantly in front of the PLA’s capabilities in this regard, has become a top priority for the Pentagon. A multitude of classified programs to develop new and more capable air-to-air missiles have been well underway and now we are seeing yet another example of this work in the form of Malice.

While we don’t know for certain the manufacturer that built this weapon or if this is its only configuration, it’s worth noting that it does look very similar to Boeing’s Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or LRAAM, concept, which we wrote about in depth five years ago . The Navy also refers to its new weapon as LRAAM.

A model of Boeing’s Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile concept. (Joseph Trevithick)

In the mockups of LRAAM from the past, it was shown with a large rear booster. If this is indeed the same weapon, it would appear that it is in its single-stage form in the new test photos seen above. Having the ability to dramatically extend the range of the weapon by adding a booster segment could be considered a huge plus, extending the types that can carry the basic weapon and its overall capability in a modular manner. A boosted air-launched weapon like this would likely fly extremely high and fast. On the other hand, it’s possible that this is a different LRAAM that is a two-stage weapon in its basic configuration. We just don’t know. Other secretive programs, such as the Long-Range Engagement Weapon (LREW,) , date back at least a decade, which also point to the development of multi-stage air-to-air weapons.

It also isn’t clear if this new weapon has other secondary modes, such as anti-ballistic missile and/or air-to-surface capabilities, nor what types of flying targets it is intended to destroy. For instance, is it capable of hitting maneuverable fighters at extreme distances as well as lumbering force multiplying support aircraft? Again, we don’t know at this time.

We will be doing additional analysis reporting on this weapon soon, stay tuned.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

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