New AMRAAM Variant Destroys Target During Recent Test
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M., March 27, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- A
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) AIM-120D Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air
Missile successfully destroyed its target Feb. 13 in a test engagement of
the newest variant of the combat-proven missile.

The AIM-120D AMRAAM was fired by a U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
fighter aircraft from the Navy's VX-31 squadron against a QF-4 target
drone. The missile guided to a direct hit, destroying the drone and meeting
all primary test objectives.

"By putting the AIM-120 through these rigorous tests, the U.S.
government and Raytheon are ensuring the warfighter receives a state-of-the
art weapon system unparalleled in performance and reliability," said Brock
McCaman, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air-to-Air product
line.

The AMRAAM missile has been developed through the combined efforts of
the U.S. Air Force's Air Armament Center, the U.S. Navy, and Raytheon. The
AIM- 120D is currently in the system design and development phase.

"The AIM-120D builds on the combat proven AMRAAM by adding an enhanced
electronic protection suite, two-way data link, and GPS-aided navigation,"
said Judy Stokley, U.S. Air Force deputy program executive officer for
Weapons. "When the missile reaches initial operating capability, our
warfighters will have a beyond visual range missile with unparalleled
capability in our quest for air dominance."

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology
leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government
markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning more
than 85 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission
systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing;
effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as
well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in


Link
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/mi...E=Mar+27,+2008
Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

Here's an AMRAAM "D" and the good old AIM-9 Sidewinder on an Italian F-16.

How's it possible the Italians have an AMRAAM D which has apparently only just passed trials in the US?

Yeah, might be the C variant. Hard to tell them apart because of the damned cropped flight control surfaces. They had to cut the tips of the wings in order to make several fit in the internal bays of F-22/35. Nevertheless, according to Wikipedia D is in full production now and if indeed so I'm sure orders have been made by many NATO countries including Italy, Turkey, Greece, etc.

If it is available for foreign sales that is.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

If it is available for foreign sales that is.

Oh, I'm sure it is. Othwerwise Raytheon would have the Bush administration banished. Foreign air forces pay a lot more for the same products than USAF.

Yep but they buy far less.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Yep but they buy far less.

That's all they need. Unlike USAF, most of the rest of the world's air forces are defensive, deterrence-focused. Many don't see any action other than in military excersizes or temporary international crises like in Bosnia.

Yeah no sh*t.
And sometimes the US doesn't sell its most up to date weapons.

i wonder how fast we will have it over here