Last Wednesday (12) the US Navy successfully completed the second firing test with an AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM, a new upgrade of the active radar-guided air-to-air missile (fire and forget type).
AMRAAM was fired from an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter at the Point Mugu Test Range, over the California coast, following the expected flight path smoothly. Preliminary analysis provided by the prime contractor, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, indicates that all primary and secondary objectives of the launch were achieved.
“Completing the first two free-flight firings with upgraded hardware and software is a significant milestone in the integration and test phase of the new AIM-120D-3 missile”, said Colonel Sean Bradley, senior materiel leader for AMRAAM in the US Air Force Materiel Directorate.
“These successes are important to the overall execution of the Form, Fit, Function Refresh (F3R) program; a program implemented to address an increasing number of production challenges due to the obsolescence of various electronic components within the AIM-120."
According to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the upgraded AIM-120D-3 will provide advanced capabilities to improve missile effectiveness against advanced threats for the Air Force, Navy and Allied Partners. At this event, the missile's safe separation autopilot and free-flight navigation capabilities were tested.
That and the first firing, carried out on December 09, 2020, are just the first in a series of developmental flight tests that provide crucial data to assess the missile's ability to acquire, track and guide targets. The production AIM-120D-3 is expected to start delivering from 2023.
In service since 1991, the AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) is the world's leading radar-guided air-to-air missile in use, with more than 4.900 test fires and more than 13 victories in air-to-air combat.
With SHIP
