Navy Unveils New Anti-Air Missile Malice with a Range of 250 Nautical Miles
The U.S. Navy is developing a long-range missile that the service claims can down aerial targets up to 250 nautical miles away. Officially designated the AIM-242 long-range air-to-air missile, the sea service revealed the new Malice system over the weekend at the Tailhook Association Naval Aviation Symposium in Reno, Nev. RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, is the lead contractor behind Malice. “LRAAM sustains the Department’s first look, first shot, first kill advantage by providing our aviators greater reach, greater survivability and greater tactical flexibility in the air-to-air fight. Built for 4th, 5th and 6th generation platforms, LRAAM is designed for
An undated photo of four AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missiles (LRAAM) loaded on an F/A-18E Super Hornet for a test event. US Navy photo The U.S. Navy is developing a long-range missile that the service claims can down aerial targets up to 250 nautical miles away.
Officially designated the AIM-242 long-range air-to-air missile, the sea service revealed the new Malice system over the weekend at the Tailhook Association Naval Aviation Symposium in Reno, Nev. RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, is the lead contractor behind Malice.
“LRAAM sustains the Department’s first look, first shot, first kill advantage by providing our aviators greater reach, greater survivability and greater tactical flexibility in the air-to-air fight. Built for 4th, 5th and 6th generation platforms, LRAAM is designed for the air wing of today and the future,” reads the U.S. Navy fact sheet on Malice.
Pentagon imagery highlights a four-missile carrying capacity on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the fleet’s primary carrier-based fighter. Two Malices can be fitted within the F-35C Lightning II’s internal launch bays.
Malice represents a slew of newly developed missiles revealed in recent years that are designed to give U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force fighters an engagement range advantage against adversaries such as China.
An undated photo of AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM) is mounted in the internal weapons bay of an F-35C with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) mounted on the weapon bay door. US Navy photo Malice’s debut also comes two years after the public reveal of the AIM-174B Gunslinger at Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2024. According to a service fact sheet, the air-launched Standard Missile 6 has been designated as a large, long-range air-to-air missile and provides “unprecedented area defense capabilities.” The missile’s range remains classified.
The Navy also states that Gunslinger is in service with the Super Hornet. Public events in Japan indicate that the missile is being fielded with forward-deployed carrier air wings, according to a report from Naval News.
Navy fighters will also field the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, an upcoming system that will supplement and replace the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles in the coming decades.
Together, these missiles come as U.S. intelligence estimates point toward a future carrier standoff between Washington and Beijing. The Pentagon 2025’s China military report claims that Beijing could potentially deploy up to nine carrier strike groups by 2035. With these estimates, the U.S. Navy may find itself in high intensity carrier versus carrier combat with the PLA Navy across the Pacific.
However, in the short-term, these new missiles will reinforce American naval aviators against existing threats, such as the PLA Air Force’s land-based attack aircraft, bombers and fighters. Downing Chinese aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft and drones can also be crucial in degrading Beijing’s efforts to target aircraft carriers with their long-range anti-ship ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
