The U.S. Moves to Accelerate Production of Its Secretive Air-Dominance Weapon
The United States is moving to accelerate production of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM), a next-generation long-range air-to-air weapon being developed by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.
On September 17, 2026, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Department of War signed a framework agreement designed to rapidly increase AIM-260 production and delivery. The agreement establishes the foundation for a future multiyear procurement program, although the final procurement quantity, cost and delivery schedule have not been publicly disclosed.
The development represents a major step toward replacing the AIM-120 AMRAAM in the long-range air-to-air role.
Designed for the Beyond-Visual-Range Fight
The AIM-260 is intended to give U.S. fighters greater engagement reach against advanced airborne threats.
Its exact maximum range remains classified. Open-source assessments generally place its intended reach significantly beyond earlier AMRAAM variants, but precise performance figures should not be treated as confirmed. The Australian government’s 2026 acquisition announcement described the AIM-260 as a next-generation beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile with greater capability than existing U.S. air-to-air weapons. Janes has assessed the missile at roughly 4 meters in length and estimated its range at more than 180 km, although these figures are not official specifications.
The missile is reportedly designed around the physical constraints of fifth-generation fighters, including internal carriage requirements. This is particularly important for aircraft such as the F-22 and F-35, where carrying weapons internally helps preserve low observability.
F-22 and F-35 Integration
The F-22 Raptor is expected to be among the first U.S. aircraft to employ the AIM-260.
Today, the F-22’s standard air-to-air configuration carries six AIM-120 missiles internally in its main weapons bay and two AIM-9 Sidewinders in its side bays. The AIM-260 is intended to provide a substantially longer-range option while maintaining the advantages of internal carriage.
The F-35 family is also planned to receive the weapon. The missile’s compact form factor is particularly important for the F-35 because internal weapons carriage is central to its low-observable configuration.
The U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is also expected to be an early JATM platform. Australia has separately announced plans to acquire AIM-260s, initially for its F/A-18F Super Hornets and subsequently for its F-35A and EA-18G Growler fleets.
What Is Known About the Missile?
Much of the AIM-260’s design remains classified.
| Feature | Publicly available information |
|---|---|
| Designation | AIM-260 JATM |
| Full name | Joint Advanced Tactical Missile |
| Developer | Lockheed Martin |
| Primary users | U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy |
| Mission | Long-range/BVR air-to-air combat |
| Propulsion | Details classified; believed to use a solid-propellant rocket motor |
| Guidance | Classified; advanced seeker and counter-countermeasure capability expected |
| Range | Classified; open-source estimates exceed 180 km |
| Length | Estimated at approximately 4 m |
| Warhead | High-explosive air-to-air warhead; detailed specifications classified |
| Internal carriage | Designed around fifth-generation fighter weapon-bay requirements |
| Initial aircraft | F-22 and F/A-18E/F expected |
| Planned integration | F-35 and potentially future combat aircraft/CCA |
| Production | Framework agreement signed to accelerate production |
| Exact production quantity | Not disclosed |
The Air Force has previously described JATM as offering improved long-range performance and an enhanced ability to defeat electronic warfare countermeasures compared with the AIM-120 family.
The Missile Race Is Moving Beyond Range
The significance of the AIM-260 is not simply the number of kilometers it can theoretically cover.
Modern air combat increasingly depends on the interaction between stealth, sensors, electronic warfare, data links, target-quality tracking and missile performance.
A longer-range missile can give a fighter more options for engaging an opponent before entering the opponent’s effective weapons envelope. However, missile range alone does not determine the outcome of an engagement.
Target detection, track quality, launch conditions, altitude, speed, electronic warfare, maneuvering and the missile’s ability to maintain an effective terminal intercept all influence actual engagement performance.
This is why the AIM-260 is being developed as part of a broader air-dominance architecture rather than as an isolated weapon.
Why the U.S. Is Accelerating Production
The latest agreement has an important industrial dimension.
The Pentagon said the framework is intended to provide long-term demand signals to Lockheed Martin and its suppliers, allowing them to invest in manufacturing capacity, workforce and production efficiency. The agreement is a framework for future multiyear procurement rather than a publicly disclosed large-scale missile order.
The timing is significant because the U.S. is simultaneously seeking to expand inventories of advanced air-to-air weapons.
The AIM-260 program was originally associated with an initial operational capability target around 2022–2023. That timeline was not achieved, and the program has remained highly classified. Current reporting indicates that development and testing are progressing toward initial fielding, with the F-22 expected to be among the first operational platforms.
Australia Becomes the First Foreign Customer
The AIM-260 is also moving beyond the U.S. domestic market.
Australia announced in August 2026 that it would acquire the missile through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales system, making Australia the first confirmed international customer.
The Australian government allocated approximately A$736 million (about US$518 million) for the acquisition. The weapon is planned for integration with Australian F/A-18F Super Hornets, F-35As and EA-18G Growlers.
A January 2026 U.S. Congressional Record notification described a potential Australian package involving up to 450 AIM-260 missiles, five integration test vehicles and 30 guided test vehicles, alongside associated support and equipment. This was a proposed sale quantity rather than evidence that all 450 missiles had already been delivered or fielded.
AIM-260 vs. AIM-120
The AIM-260 is intended to complement and eventually succeed the AIM-120 in the long-range air-to-air role.
The AIM-120D remains a highly capable BVR weapon, but the U.S. military has been developing JATM because emerging adversary missile systems have increased the importance of engagement range and survivability in contested airspace.
The Air Force Test Center has described JATM as the successor to AMRAAM, specifically highlighting its expected improvement in long-range performance and resistance to electronic warfare.
The result could eventually be a mixed weapons architecture in which AIM-120 variants remain useful for shorter-range BVR engagements while AIM-260 provides a longer-range option against higher-value or heavily protected targets.
The Bottom Line
The AIM-260 is not simply a longer-range version of the AIM-120.
Its importance lies in combining long-range air combat capability, fifth-generation internal carriage, advanced guidance and electronic-warfare resistance within the U.S. air-dominance ecosystem.
The most important numbers remain classified. What is now public is that the program has moved toward a new phase: the United States and Lockheed Martin are establishing the industrial framework required to produce the weapon at greater scale.
For the F-22, F-35 and future U.S. combat aircraft, the objective is straightforward: create more engagement options before an adversary can bring its own long-range weapons into play.
Editorial note: Public sources do not currently establish a verified maximum range, top speed, exact seeker architecture, motor specification, warhead weight or final production rate for the AIM-260. Open-source figures should therefore be treated as estimates rather than official specifications.
