A photo of an American F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft belonging to the 31st Test Aviation Squadron (VX-31) equipped with the latest AIM-260 JATM air-to-air missile has appeared on the Internet. The photo of the fighter with this missile was published by photographer Jonathan Tweedy. This picture was taken after the plane took off from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
This is reported by The Aviationist. This is the firstly in a long time that a "live" photo of the AIM-260 JATM missile has appeared. The program to create this missile was launched in 2017. Previously, this missile could only be seen in illustrative images of conceptual versions.
Read more: Mysterious 200km AIM-260 JATM Gets 3x Funding Boost, Serial Production Starts 2027 Despite Recent Delays
From the Defense Express, we note that since the AIM-260 JATM is essentially the successor to the AIM-120 AMRAAM, we can consider the question of whether this new missile could ever enhance the combat capabilities of Ukrainian aviation. Spoiler – in fact, this is a very unlikely story.
On the one hand, Ukraine will operate F-16 fighters for a long time and, for example, the supply of these aircraft from Belgium will continue at least until 2029. On the other hand, as of today, there is no confirmation in open sources that the US wants to integrate the AIM-260 JATM missile into the F-16. Currently, there are plans to use it from such platforms as carrier-based fighters F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, 5th-gen F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II aircraft, as well as F-15EX Eagle II fighters as well as UAV created in a framework of he Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme.
But even if the AIM-260 JATM is integrated into the F-16, the modifications available in Ukraine will not allow the full potential of this missile to be revealed. In addition, the wait for the AIM-260 JATM will be very, very long.
Despite the appearance of the first photo of this missile, the program still remains secret and it is currently unknown when this missile can go into mass production. At the same time, it is clear that first of all, serial production should meet the needs of the United States for this missile, and then the first export customer - Australia, which should receive the first batch as early as the third quarter of 2033, if, of course, there are no delays in the implementation of this project.
The AIM-260 JATM missile should significantly strengthen the air defense capabilities of American combat aircraft, as well as export customers, however, as we have already said earlier, it is already inferior to Chinese competitors at the "start".
In particular, 10 years ago, the PRC put into service the country's air force the PL-15 air-to-air missile, the range of which, according to various estimates, is up to 300 km, and four years ago - the PL-17 missile, which can hit air targets at a distance of up to 500 km.
For the AIM-260 JATM, the range was stated in various sources at up to 200 km, at the same time it is now noted that this indicator is the minimum estimated maximum range and the USA will work on increasing this characteristic.
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