OREANDA-NEWS. More than 30 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles have been fired from all three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter since testing began in 2013. AMRAAM® is the only air-to-air missile that is currently cleared to fly on the F-35.  

"AMRAAM is the most capable air-to-air weapon ever produced," said Mike Jarrett, Raytheon Air Warfare Systems vice president. "The F-35 offers several new capabilities and AMRAAM is the perfect weapon to ensure it is unequaled in the Air Dominance arena."

AMRAAM has been operational on U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs since July 2015. Integration work on the JSF will continue to ensure AMRAAM is fully compatible with each new variant of F-35 software as it is released.

The U.S. Air Force is expected to declare the F-35A operational in 2017. AMRAAM will be an essential capability on the Air Force's newest platform and will ensure the JSF excels in the Air Dominance role. The U.S. Navy is expected to follow suit with an operational capability announcement in 2018 for its F-35Cs.

Because of its ongoing modernization, AMRAAM continues to deliver a high level of dependability and versatility at a low lifecycle cost. It has also flown on more aircraft than any other air-to-air missile currently flying.

  • Procured by 37 countries, AMRAAM is integrated on the F-16, F-15, F/A-18, F-22, Typhoon, Gripen, Tornado and Harrier.
  • With more than 4,200 test firings, no other air-to-air missile in the world has been as thoroughly tested or improved as AMRAAM.

Raytheon is also working on incorporating the following weapons on the JSF:

  • AIM-9X: The most advanced infrared-tracking, short-range, air-to-air and surface-to-air missile in the world. It is configured for easy installation on a wide range of modern aircraft, including the F-15, F-16, F/A-18 and F-4 fighters, A-4, A-6 and AV-8B attack aircraft, and the AH-1 helicopter.
  • JSOW: A family of low-cost, air-to-ground weapons that employ an integrated GPS-inertial navigation system and thermal imaging infrared seeker.
  • JSM: A long-distance, anti-ship missile designed to take on high value, heavily defended targets. The long standoff range (distance from the aircraft to the target) ensures that the aircraft and pilots remain out of harm's way.
  • Paveway: A family of laser-guided bombs that has revolutionized tactical air-to-ground warfare by converting "dumb" bombs into precision-guided munitions. Paveway bombs have been put to the test in every major conflict and proved themselves time and again as the weapon of choice.
  • SDB-II: Small Diameter Bomb II can hit moving targets in all weather conditions. It employs Raytheon's revolutionary tri-mode seeker, which operates in three different modes: millimeter-wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared and semi-active laser.