Military Watch Magazine

Top U.S. Navy Fighter Gains Major Air-to-Air Combat Boost with Very Long Range Missile Configuration

The release of an image showing a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter carrying both the AIM-174B and AIM-260A Joint Advanced Tactical Missile has provided an indicator of significant progress in efforts to transform the air-to-air combat capabilities of the ageing combat jets. The aircraft, assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 was photographed flying over Ridgecrest, California, on October 14, and all integrated an IRST21 infrared search-and-track system. Where U.S. combat aircraft have for years been significantly outranged by their Russian and Chinese counterparts, the AIM-174B and AIM-260A provide a distinct advantage over the Russian R-37M missile, and may provide parity with the more advanced Chinese KJ-500.