The US Navy is testing a new air-to-air missile capable of striking targets more than 290 miles (465 kilometres) away, potentially giving it a longer reach than any other publicly known weapon in its class, according to the Navy.


It said the AIM-424 Malice, developed by Raytheon, a subsidiary of RTX Corp., is approximately the same size as the current AIM-120 AMRAAM, Caliber.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.


This means the missile can be carried inside the weapons bays of F-35 and F-22 stealth fighters.


Long-range air-to-air missiles gained renewed attention last year after Pakistan said it had used Chinese-made weapons with a reported range of about 300 kilometres to shoot down Indian fighter aircraft.


Such missiles could be used against high-value targets such as airborne command-and-control aircraft and aerial refuelling tankers. However, their greater value could be in protecting naval forces, according to Peter Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer and visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute.


“I think it’s meant to counter Chinese bombers firing long range anti ship cruise missiles,” Layton said. “Fleet air defense, not air-to-air combat.”


Using missiles at such extreme ranges requires sensors capable of detecting and tracking targets from hundreds of kilometres away, as well as systems able to guide the weapon to its target. Fast-moving aircraft can also reduce the effectiveness of long-range attacks by turning away from incoming missiles.


The Navy has not announced when the AIM-424 will become operational.


The US military has long sought very-long-range air-to-air weapons. Such capabilities largely disappeared from the US arsenal after the retirement of the AIM-54 Phoenix and the F-14 Tomcat, the only fighter designed to carry it.


Lockheed Martin was awarded about $1 billion this year to begin production of the AIM-260, another long-range air-to-air missile.


Meanwhile, the AIM-174B, an air-to-air version of the SM-6 air and missile defence system, has been operational for several years and reportedly has a range exceeding 400 kilometres.


The AIM-424 Malice was unveiled Saturday at the Navy's Tailhook symposium in Reno, Nevada.


By Bakhtiyar Abbasov