- Messages
- 489
- Reactions
- Nation of residence
-
- Nation of origin
-
The U.S. Navy has publicly disclosed a previously unannounced AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM), also known as the "Malice", revealing the weapon mounted inside the internal weapons bay of an F-35C Lightning II with an AIM-120 AMRAAM mounted on the bay door. The Navy describes the AIM-424 as its next-generation, long range air to air missile, intended to give Navy and Marine Corps aviators greater capability against advanced threats.
The internal carriage is particularly significant. Rather than simply adding another externally carried long-range missile, the AIM-424 appears to have been designed around the F-35's limited internal weapons-bay dimensions, allowing the aircraft to retain its low-observable configuration while carrying a substantially longer-range air-to-air weapon.
The missile is still associated with testing and development, and the Navy has released few technical details regarding its range, seeker, propulsion or intended employment. The available imagery does, however, show the AIM-424 being evaluated on both the F-35C and F/A-18E/F, indicating that the weapon is being considered across the Navy's carrier aviation force.
