The US Navy unveiled the AIM-424 Malice, an ultra-long-range air-to-air missile with a stated range of more than 463 km. on Tuesday, revealing a weapon designed to give US carrier-based pilots a significant stand-off advantage against enemy aircraft.
For a while, it appeared that the US had lost its edge in air-to-air missiles, the weapons fighter jets launch to shoot down other aircraft. Pakistan used a Chinese missile to shoot down an Indian fighter jet from a range of 200 km., far beyond the range of US AMRAAM missiles.
The disclosure showed that the US had not been standing still. The US Navy revealed the AIM-424 Malice, a radar-guided missile using advanced rocket propulsion and capable of very high speeds, although most of its specifications remain classified.
The missile, which is already undergoing testing, is being developed and will be manufactured by Raytheon to give pilots operating from US aircraft carriers the ability to destroy enemy fighters, intelligence aircraft, and refueling aircraft from very long ranges.
The capability is considered particularly important for the Navy in facing the Chinese air force and navy in a scenario involving the suppression of an attack on Taiwan. In recent years, China has invested heavily in developing and producing fighter jets and a stealth bomber, gradually narrowing the technological gap the US long enjoyed. At present, however, no comparable missile is known to be in Chinese service.
Missile may use planned US radar satellite network
The missile's range exceeds the detection range of fighter-jet radars. It can likely be launched using targeting data from other radar systems, including those aboard ships in the area or airborne early warning and intelligence aircraft.
In the coming years, it may also rely on information from the network of radar satellites the US is preparing to launch. These are expected to give Washington a potentially revolutionary ability to detect any aircraft flying anywhere in the world at any given moment.
Images released by the US Navy show an F-18 carrying four of the missiles and an F-35 carrying one in its internal weapons bay, allowing the stealth fighter to carry the weapon without compromising its low-observable characteristics.
Since the Six-Day War, the Israel Air Force has purchased its radar-guided air-to-air missiles from the US, unlike heat-seeking missiles, which are also purchased from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Even after Rafael developed the radar-guided Derby missile at the IAF's request, the air force ultimately preferred the US-made AMRAAM.
Will Israel also purchase the Malice?
The missile's price has not yet been published, but it is likely to be relatively expensive, at more than $1 million per missile.
The weapon could be compatible with Israel's F-35 and F-15 aircraft, and likely with its F-16 Sufa jets as well. Such a missile could also prove significant in the Middle East, since its range would let a pilot launch it while staying far from the threat posed by enemy missiles.
In theory, a fighter jet flying over northern Israel could use such a missile to shoot down an aircraft flying over southern Turkey.