I have some leaked intel on the AIM-260's multimodal seeker. It has both RADAR and IR/UV, but the real top secret functionality is that it logs on to Snapchat and various social media and dating sites and then finds the enemy pilot and sends him messages while he's flying so that he'll respond and reveal his location.

Alex, I grew up reading Aviation Week Space & Tech. magazine and Jane's Books. In my opinion, you Sir, have attained their status in this Media. Truly a National Treasure.

When discussing no-escape range, it's worth keeping in mind that being beyond that range doesn't mean you're guaranteed to escape. The closer you are, the narrower your options. Stated no-escape ranges are "calibrated" for a specific target, and the range will be different for other targets. It would also not be outside the realm of possibility for the no-escape range to be understated.

This guy's probably the only channel i know that actually does his research and says actual facts

For some reason, everytime i hear you say "this is air-power", it actually comes over as powerful.

I'm a simple man. Alex uploads a video and I watch it without fail. Still waiting on a deep dive video into a F15EX or even B21 missile truck scenario against a high volume adversary.

A lot of the talk I heard about the AIM-260 had focused on it being powered by a 2-stage rocket motor. This is the first I've heard about a throttled rocket motor. Very interesting

The AIM-120D entered production in 2006. Think of how far computational technology has come from then. The US has been cooking this next one up for almost 20 years now.

PL-15: “If this weapon works as advertised” is kinda the whole ball of wax. How many awesome weapons have we (USA) developed because we thought the enemy had something game changing, only to find out their stuff was really just junk?

"would not ramp up production on an ineffective weapon". LCS - "hold my beer"

One of the most authentic and "Solid" quote in the internet, is the Alex's: "...And This is AIR POWER"

MBDA Meteor missile : "Finally a worthy opponent"

Being the Aim 260 allegedly went into production a year ago, and they have stopped talking about it (usually a clue), I agree there are likely already Raptors flying with them.

You've got extremely comprehensive videos man. I really appreciate the style of your show, the fact that you don't use AI or computer voices, and the fact that your information is seemingly cutting edge.

Multimode tracking and rocket or air-breathing engines sound revolutionary. Thank you for the detailed walkthrough. You're an excellent source for this info.

I remember when navy tested harpoon on P-3's, they added on box launcher booster to kick it's range out further.

Doing great Alex! Keep it up, my man!

The last point is the key, the 260 will already out range almost all fighter radars in service today.

Been watching you for quite some time as you develop and grow on this platform and beyond proud to your success. More and more comfortable on camera and still giving EXCELLENT free education!

16:40 When it comes out, I hope they call it the AIM-154 Phoenix 2 (or AIM-55). That name needs to be reborn and rise from the ashes of time.

Thanks Alex, good episode with some great information that I hadn’t heard before!!

Thanks for explaining the nuances and operational limitations of air to air missiles Alex. A real eye opener. The new missile looks like a real game changer.

Thanks for the update Alex

Been looking forward to this video!

Maximum range is always a fun topic given the variables involved, but the thing which HAS ALWAYS been an issue is the ability to IFF. This is the reason why Tomcats which went feet dry in Desert Storm and in the missions after (Desert Fox Southern/Northern Watch, etc) weren't allowed to shoot Phoenix. In fact, in Desert Storm the ROE required VID or hostile intent to engage air targets (something that the Tomcat was particularly good at given the TCS, but it lacked other NCTR IFF capabilities as an excuse the USAF gave). The fear was shooting down friendly aircraft. This problem hasn't completely gone away and it really hampers the usage of these missiles at extreme ranges. We are more apt to see Peregrine or Cougar used by stealth fighters at closer ranges while receiving targeting information from 4th gen AESA equipped aircraft or Wedgetail/E-2D than these super long range shots.

Keep up the good work. Thumbs up and comment to support.

Great work man. You have become since i discovered your work a primary source of infomation and detail.

Simply air launching the ESSM Block II will give you a missile with twice the range of the AIM-120D that fits in the same envelope. The 10" ESSM fits in exactly that envelope as the 7" AIM-120. The strakes do not extend beyond the 10" box and the fins fold into that same box. In fact, the ESSM will fit into a smaller box than the AIM-120C/D with it's fins. The missile is 3.66m long practically exactly the same length the 3.65m AIM-120. It is about 620 lbs vs 335 lbs for the AMRAAM, but that is nothing that the weapon stations on existing fighters cannot handle (except for the wing tip rails). Going to 10" from 7" gets you about twice the propellant load and in surface launched application the ESSM is a 50km missile while the AIM-120 is a 25 km missile. Simply adapting the active seeker ESSM Block II will give you a Mach 6 ~ Mach 7.5 missile with an all boost motor and high altitude release from a supersonic fighter. Obviously, if they want to further improve the performance, they can shrink the guidance package ad or the warhead, lengthen the motor by another 20~30% and switch to a lighter graphite epoxy casing. That is a Mach 7~9 missile right there; 100% based on proven and existing technology. A switch to a boost-sustain grain for the motor will allow you to trade speed and ballistic range for a larger no escape envelope. But even without it, a Mach 8 guided projectile that you won't likely see on the radar or warning receivers until it is ~20 km away gives you only about 7 sec to do anything about it. That in itself is extremely deadly. That is not to mention that powered or not, speed is energy and energy is maneuverability. Missiles can turn at 35~60Gs which is more than any fighter or its pilot and will ALWAYS win the agility game until it loses enough speed to be either slower than the fighter or will be if it pulls that same Gs are the fighter. 7 secs is not a lot of time to play that game.

Thank you for all your hard work

I can see the benefit of loading the F-22/F35 with twice the number of Peregrine AA missiles (over the AIM-120s) and load the AIM-260s (8 each?) on following F-15EXs (back some 20 or 30 miles), with the F-15s radiating at full power on their radars and the F-22s in quiet mode. That would make a flight of 4 F-22s and 4 F-15EXs quite capable of taking out an enormous number of enemy fighters

another excellent vid. thanks for your work on this

gotta love this channel, thank ya, Alex . . .

Excellent presentation during a groundbreaking update. Keep up the excellent reporting.

Beautiful video, thank you Alex

I love these videos about new rumoured systems where we take some time to learn about the other systems this might compete against, what the history of the system is and all the unreliable specs of current and past weapons in the same class. I am always holding my breath for the end of the video to see how few seconds Alex manages to talk about the actual title weapon.

This episode has been awaited with much anticipation. You didn't disappoint. Warmest compliments. Thank you, sir. :)

AIM-260 has a literal two-stage booster. 1st booster is the boost phase, and it detaches from the missile when it runs out to have no dead weight and better aerodynamics and the 2nd booster is the sustainer where it sustains its Mach 4-6 speed that allows it to reach 200km range. Remember it is only an AIM-260A, probably going to have a longer range on the newer missile variants. There is another missile though, the Peregrine Medium Range Air to Air Missile. It was 2x shorter than the AIM-120 but it has the same range as the AIM-120D. For example, the F-22 can only carry 4 to 6 AIM-120D, where it can carry more than 8 to 12 Peregrine missiles.

I learn so much from your presentations. Thanks Alex. Tim. Poulsbo,Washington

Thanks for the updates Alex.👉🏻👉🏻

So cool to see you mention that long range shot at the BQM-167. I was the target control technician for that shot. Basically just a liaison between the weapons directors that talk to the firghters, and the civilian comtractors controlling the target. That was a fun one. Coolest job i had in the service, and Panama City ain't the worst place in the world.. by a small margin lol. Got to see the QF-4's go out and the QF-16's come in. And i got to see one of the QF-4's crash on takeoff on a day where the drone guys were giving us a tour. Thanks for yet another amazing video Alex.

☺ might I add I love HAFB Lived around it my whole life and everything they do I appreciate (almost 50 years now). I hear jets almost everyday and love it. I love our philosophy of claiming lower more reliable numbers but in reality maybe better than claimed versus others claiming maximum which in reality isn't even close. Meteor imo is great and I assume meteor claims are being modest as well

Alex, you present your information in such a way that both the layperson and professional can understand and stay interested.Thank you!

I've been waiting for this one for months!

The video was very good and Alex explained the middle crisis of the USA and what's being done to give our poilets the edge it needs thanks brother keep up the good work

Then there was the 1,000 lb telephone pole that Raytheon created for taking out bomber formations with its 125 lb warhead that zoomed up to 80,000 ft and dropped onto its target at (version 1, anyway) mach 5. If it lost lock or someone beat it to its target, it would just pick another ( it developed a taste for jamming pods over the years). Alas, the concept was ahead of the technology - the rocket motor would not always light, creating a Phoe-bomb. It was also dependent on the Tomcat keeping its nose toward the target. Nice to see tech catching up with 1960's ambitions.

You often have in depth information. Thanks

One thing I would like to add is that the AIM-260 is not only designed to counter China’s PL-15, but also Russia’s R-77M, which is another long-range ramjet-powered missile that is expected to enter service soon. The R-77M is said to have a range of over 200 km and a speed of Mach 6, making it a formidable threat to US and allied fighters. Thanks for sharing your insights! It was a good watch.

13:30 I would be shocked if it didn't have a multi-mode seeker. At the likely price point of such capable missiles, it would seem like a waste not to install one.

As aways nice work! I always enjoy.

Thanks and greets from Germany! Good job! ;-)

Loved it! ❤

In a practical sense a loyal wingman or unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) carrying AAWs like the AIM-120D is a two stage weapon with greatly extended range. It can loiter for prolonged periods before launching its final stage weapon thereby greatly extending its engagement envelope. We have entered interesting times for air warfare.

I didn't know any of this. Thanks!

You Sir have the best channel of this kind on the whole platform IMO

All very long range modern missiles, except the Meteor, have dual burn motors. They fire 6-8s at launch, then another 6-8s at apogee. So the faster and higher you fire them, the farther they go. So the performance of the launch platform is critical. What none of them have is a terminal burn. Even the vaunted DCS gets this wrong. The AIM-260 may be a dual stage (not dual burn). If so, it's terminal maneuverability and speed could be off the charts as it would only be 2/3 as long/heavy after the stage 1 burn. That doesn't even account for improvements in sensors and electronics which are undoubtedly better than the 120D.

A missile with an considerable large diameter would fit into the weapon bay of an F-22 or F-35. The AIM-54 Phoenix was only one foot longer than the AMRAAM, but had more than twice the diameter. So it could carry much more fuel.

I was waiting for this one to drop

But despite the hype you cannot seem to avoid, you are the best American defense journalist, genuinely trying to be as objective as possible. Surely you raised my expectations. I salute you for your hard work.

Imagine what they can make for the F-15EX. Specially made for super long range that is targeted by F-22:F-35 in front. F15EX dose not have to rely on stealth they could carry scram jet missiles and several at that.

1st kill opportunity changes if your a stealth 5th gen fighter and your opponent even with a Meteor or PL15 missiles on a fighter that has AESEA radar can only lock you up at ranges of 20 to 30 odd miles, this changes the dynamics of BVR. Being a non stealth 4.5 gen aircraft is a huge disadvantage even with long range missiles thus with stealth AMRAAM is very capable and the last comment for another topic about targeting certainly is very important future capability.

Awesome content as always. Is the AIM-120 D3 still testing or close to operational?

Great reporting as always Alex. Topic for future video? Loitering munitions (land/submersed/air launched). May tie in further with the system of systems approach.

been waiting for this one!

This is exciting!

I've always wondered why we hadn't seen a multimodal seeker anywhere. Very interesting to learn of this rumour that this AIM-260 finally might!

Excellent and informative video. Thank you.

Let your enemies believe you’re less capable with your equipment, and less reliable with your logistics. Never show your FULL ONION

Great Alex Thanks

Know what? When you say, “And this-is AIR POWER,” rocks. Keep doing it like that. You rock.

I've read the PL15 and perhaps the PL21 are not designed to hit F35's or F22s but tankers and AWACs. At long ranges, the small radars in these missiles might not be able to lock on to stealth aircraft. One other consideration, a steal fighter doesn't just have to worry about other stealth fighters, but ships with long range anti-air missiles. Waiting ot hear your next video on how these long range weapons will find their targets.

The F-15EX is a missile truck, carrying 12 AIM-120Ds each. Pop one F-22 or F-35 out in front of them and salvo fire from the flight of 15s with terminal guidance provided by the stealth fighters, your enemy is in a world of hurt. Now, imagine those 120s become 260s. Ouch.

Always a joy to listen to and be informed. Thanks

I'm fascinated by the radar going into the Block 4 F-35. I know it's been mentioned with a brief description of it's abilities. If you have more information or enough to do a whole episode just on this system that would be great

Excellence in reporting.

Damn, Alex, another kick-ass vidya. I swear, it seems hard enough to produce one or two excellent mini-documentaries...but to *consistently* produce *excellent* ones...just props dude.

Love your videos!

Great & informative work ❤ 🇬🇧

I'm curious how they choose the numbers for these names. There were AIM-7, AIM-9, AIM-54 and suddenly AIM-120 and then AIM-260. Next up is the AIM-6xx?

Thank you for the content love watching your videos when I’m bored at work

"That's just physics." Very USMC of you. Edit: Have you done an episode on the CCA drone yet? That would be very intersting!

For the Pacific theatre the P8 with its internal weapons bay would allow for a very long range weapon. Supplied with targeting information from F22/35, autonomous unmanned vehicles, Wedgetails or AWACs.

A video about peregrine missile would also be interesting. While shorter-range, it's smaller, which is good for stealth fighters since they'll for more in their weapons bays. And short range engagements are more likely when stealth meets stealth.

I thought aim 260 was going to be a dual stage missile so that when it goes pitbull, the rear half of the missile falls off and a secondary motor kicks in giving missile greater aerodynamics

I bet it wasn't even China that prompted this. America was just mad that Europeans had been quietly getting really good at missiles with stuff like Storm Shadow and Starstreak and Meteor.

My father worked at China Lake in most of the 1950's. He worked on the first "sidewinder."

Thank you, Alex!!!👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

All I can say is China is like Russia a lot of talk. Does it work? These numbers of distance and how good the lock-on range is ? Love the idea the the F15 will carry many of these weapons 🇺🇸🤔👍

"Capable of traveling at five times the speed of sound, the Phoenix had a radar homing capability and an operational range of over 100 miles. "

Please talk about the Pye Wacket Lenticular Missile. It was designed to protect the XB-70 Valkyrie

Thanks for sharing Alex! It’s disgraceful that the US was allowed to fall behind the Chinese. Hats off to all the folks working on the AIM-260, CUDA, & Peregrine!

I thought I knew about AA missiles but I learned a lot more today. As always thank you for this video.

Alex, do you think NGAD will be bigger than the F-22 and F-35 so that it can later house more numerous and lager munitions?

Good Stuff!!

Another interesting video 👍

Now if we can just get some SR-71s to launch missiles they could have some epic range lol.

Always enjoy hearing about these new weapons. Alex seems to be as connected as you can be without actually being in the military. I am convinced that by the time he can make and release this info, similar or possibly even better systems are already in our stocks. 👍🏻

We're just taking China's word that the pl-15 actually has 120mi range lol.

Helpful tip(?) - If possible, when comparing ranges of similar weapons systems, considering using overlapping circles or similar graph(ic)

Yes!!! Let's go!!!!!

AIM260 needs to be named Phoenix 2, so we can have them patrolling for carrier groups with no changes to story texts.