The Missile That Never Misses: How AMRAAM® Redefined Air Combat

An F-35 Lightning II launches an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile during a test fligh.(Photo: U.S. Air Force)

For over three decades, the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile has stood as the benchmark of air combat excellence. Designed to deliver superior performance across all weather conditions and beyond visual range, AMRAAM remains the world’s most sophisticated and combat-proven air dominance weapon.

With more than 30 years of continuous development, extensive testing, and proven success in combat, the missile’s reliability and precision are unmatched. Its exceptional capabilities have been validated through over 4,900 test firings and more than 13 confirmed air-to-air combat victories, reinforcing its status as a cornerstone of modern aerial warfare.

Precision and Flexibility

The AMRAAM missile combines high performance, precision, and cost-effectiveness within a compact design. It uses inertial guidance, midcourse updates, and an active radar seeker to locate and intercept targets with remarkable accuracy. This multi-layered guidance system ensures operational effectiveness against agile and evasive threats, even in electronically contested environments.

Through continuous modernization and software upgrades, AMRAAM maintains its edge as the gold standard for air dominance. Its adaptability ensures consistent relevance to the evolving needs of the warfighter, enabling unmatched mission flexibility in both air-to-air and surface-launched engagements.

Proven Global Integration

Adopted by 40 nations alongside the United States, AMRAAM has become an integral part of allied air defense systems worldwide. It is fully integrated across a diverse fleet of fighter aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle and Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-22 Raptor, Eurofighter Typhoon, JAS-39 Gripen, Tornado, and Harrier.

AMRAAM is also the primary interceptor for the NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) and serves as the baseline radar-guided missile for all variants of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Notably, it remains the only radar-guided air-to-air missile certified for use on the F-35, demonstrating its enduring compatibility with next-generation platforms.

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Dual-Role Capability

The AMRAAM’s design enables true dual-role functionality — delivering operational flexibility in both air-to-air and surface-to-air engagements. In aerial combat, its advanced seeker and active radar guidance allow it to acquire and track multiple targets in complex environments. In ground-based configurations, the missile can be seamlessly launched from NASAMS batteries without modification, offering nations a unified missile solution for multiple defense layers.

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Expanding the Horizon: AMRAAM-ER

Building on this legacy, the AMRAAM-Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) introduces a new dimension to ground-based air defense. Designed specifically for longer reach and higher altitude interception, AMRAAM-ER incorporates a larger rocket motor and optimized flight control algorithms to extend its effective engagement range.

Integrated with the NASAMS launcher, AMRAAM-ER enhances medium-range air defense capabilities, providing robust protection against evolving aerial threats. NASAMS, currently deployed by 12 countries and safeguarding the U.S. National Capital Region since 2005, offers a proven platform for integrating this new missile.

The first successful flight test of AMRAAM-ER was completed in early 2021, marking a significant step toward operational deployment. Production deliveries are expected to begin in 2022, bringing the next level of precision and range to global defense networks.

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The Legacy Continues

From dogfights to defense networks, AMRAAM’s evolution underscores a consistent mission — to ensure air superiority whenever and wherever it is needed. As modernization continues, AMRAAM and AMRAAM-ER together represent the future of flexible, reliable, and combat-proven air defense, trusted by militaries across the world.