Air Force on Mission to Modernize Weapons: AIM-9X, AIM-120D and Stormbreaker

Related Video Above: F-35s to Europe 

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

The Air Force is making a special effort to ensure its weapons are modernized, upgraded and developed as quickly as other elements of 5th and 6th generation aircraft to ensure that air lethality keeps pace with stealth technology, AI-enabled computing and long-range sensors.

“We want to be careful as we purchase 5th-gen aircraft, we can’t put 3rd gen weapons on them,” Lt. Gen. David Nahom, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, told the Mitchell Institute for Aersopace Studies.

Weapons Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) 

The service has made considerable effort to modernize its arsenal of weapons through efforts such as software enhancements to the AIM-120D and AIM-9X air-to-air weapons, yet some Air Force weapons developers are concerned that there might not be enough innovative next-generation weapons programs and technological breakthroughs. This is why Nahom explained the importance of sustaining and improving Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) efforts to identify paradigm-changing new weapons technologies.

“We have to have enough RDTE in advanced munitions, for the high end fight. We are balancing the money and going to put a little more into advanced RDTE efforts,” Nahom said.

AIM-9X

The AIM-9X has, for example, been adapted to fire “off-boresight” meaning it can change course in flight and redirect to attack an enemy aircraft flying on the side or even behind of the attacking jet. A fighter jet such as the F-35 does therefore not have to have a strickly linear, straight ahead firing trajectory but can attack at virtually all angles.