The United States Navy has revealed flight tests of the AIM-424 Malice, a new long-range air-to-air missile developed by Raytheon to defend aircraft carrier strike groups.
The new weapon features an official range exceeding 250 nautical miles, or more than 463 kilometres, designed to destroy threat aircraft before they can approach a naval task force. Built with a solid-fuel rocket motor, the missile measures 4.11 metres in length and weighs approximately 680 kilograms. The Navy has not disclosed the exact maximum distance the weapon can achieve beyond its official rating.
Images released by the service show the AIM-424 fitted inside the internal weapons bay of a Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II stealth fighter. Stowing the missile internally allows the aircraft to maintain its low radar signature, avoiding the increased radar reflection caused when weapons are mounted beneath the wings.
The F-35C is the US Navy's carrier-capable variant of the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter, featuring reinforced landing gear, larger wing surfaces, and foldable wingtips designed specifically for catapult launches and arrested landings on aircraft carriers.
Multi-aircraft integration and carrier tactics
The Navy has also flight-tested the Malice on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, with test configurations carrying four of the 680-kilogram missiles simultaneously. The weapon is also planned for integration onto the Navy's future F/A-XX fighter aircraft, which is intended to replace aging carrier-based fleets in coming decades.
The combination of platforms enables new tactical concepts for naval aviation. A forward-deployed stealth F-35C could use its advanced sensor suite to detect target aircraft at long ranges while other non-stealth fighters positioned further back transport a larger quantity of AIM-424 missiles.
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine, carrier-capable multirole fighter that serves as the backbone of current US Navy carrier air wings, capable of carrying heavy ordnance loads across external wing hardpoints.
Defensive role and targeting network
By engaging targets at distances beyond 463 kilometres, the AIM-424 fundamentally alters how carrier strike groups defend themselves. Rather than waiting for hostile aircraft to approach their weapon release points, naval fighters can shoot down adversary bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance platforms hundreds of kilometres away.
The long-range missile is also designed to target critical support aircraft that sustain enemy air operations. These include airborne early warning and control planes as well as aerial refueling tankers, which are essential for extending the operational reach of hostile strike packages.
Because an individual fighter jet cannot independently locate targets at distances exceeding 463 kilometres, the Malice relies on networked targeting data from external sources. To track targets across extreme ranges, the missile will depend on positioning data supplied by accompanying F-35C fighters, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye surveillance aircraft, surface warships, and other remote sensor networks.
The Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is a twin-turboprop carrier-based tactical airborne early warning aircraft equipped with a rotating radar dome. It functions as the central command node for tracking airborne and maritime threats for carrier strike groups.
The US Navy has not revealed the specific guidance system or seeker technology incorporated into the AIM-424 Malice. Additionally, naval officials have not provided details regarding unit procurement costs, total purchase quantities, or an estimated date for operational deployment into active service.
Evolving naval air warfare strategy
Developer Raytheon, a major American aerospace and defense contractor, produces key air-to-air missiles for the US Armed Forces, including the medium-range AIM-120 AMRAAM and the short-range AIM-9X Sidewinder.
The deployment of the AIM-424 highlights parallel defense initiatives in modern air warfare. While the military is pursuing massive, long-range weapons to neutralize high-value aircraft at long ranges, developers are also working on small, low-cost anti-drone missiles and low-cost supersonic interceptors to counter potential swarms of uncrewed aerial vehicles.
With the AIM-424 Malice, the Navy's strategic focus remains centered on pushing aerial threats as far away from aircraft carriers as possible, engaging hostiles before they can launch their own weapons against the fleet.
