Lockheed Martin and Pentagon agree multi-year deal to expand AIM-260 missile production

Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon have agreed on a framework to raise production of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a weapon developed largely in secret over six years. Announced on 17 September, the deal sets out a multi-year procurement strategy. The Pentagon said it will also widen allied access to the missile, without giving specifics.

Michael Duffey, undersecretary of war for acquisition and sustainment, said the announcement reflected a commitment to sending long-term demand signals across the defence industrial base, so warfighters receive the capability when and where missions require it.

The Pentagon counts the JATM among Washington's highest-priority missile systems. Lockheed says it is compatible with a range of air force and navy aircraft, naming its own F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters, both on frontline duty in the Middle East, the Pacific and Europe. The missile is positioned as a successor to the AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Lockheed describes the AIM-260 as an air-dominance missile able to defeat current and projected enemy air threats, with greater range and effectiveness than existing air-to-air weapons, giving the joint force an asymmetric advantage. No performance metrics were released. The company says little is publicly known about the JATM.

Australia confirmed in August that it intends to field the missile, integrating the AIM-260 on the Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets, followed by F-35As and Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. Work on the AIM-260 has been confirmed at least as far back as 2020.