Air-to-Air Missiles seeking longer ranges and improved capabilities By Luca Peruzzi
The Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM is the only BVRAAM so far integrated and in service with the US and international customers of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II. © U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Michael Jackson
The advent of adversarial long-range air-to-air missile (AAM) threats such as the very long range Russian R-73M and newest variants of the R-77, alongside the Chinese PL-15 beyond visual range AAM (BVRAAM), as well as new short range air-to-air missiles (SRAAMs) developed by the same countries, have pushed NATO and Allied forces together with US, European and Israeli missile houses to further evolve in-service weapon systems and work onto new solutions to counter the mentioned threats. In addition to the propulsion/control system and warhead, a key area of development in the missile domain is the guidance package based in the air-to-air arena on radio frequency (RF) and imaging infrared (IIR) seekers for respectively BVRAAM and SRAAM solutions. Little information is usually provided by missile manufacturers about their seeker technologies and capabilities, this analysis wanting to give a flavour of in-service and readily applicable solutions to further enhance current weapon systems capabilities without forgetting key capabilities that distinguishes each missile. 4
EDR | July/August 2022
