China: Aim-260a Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, an Air-to-air Missile That Will Be Integrated Onto the Country’s Full Fleet of Fighter

Defence Minister Richard Marles made the announcement on Aug. 6 while attending the multinational fighter exercise Pitch Black 2026 in Darwin. Marles said the JATM will allow the Royal Australian Air Force to strike at a longer range, deter any adversary and protect our national interests.

Australia and the U.S. are alarmed at growing threats from China, whose air force is fielding long-range missiles such as the PL-15 and the even larger PL-17. With aging missile types like the incumbent AIM-120 AMRAAM now outclassed by their Chinese equivalents, the AIM-260 is designed to restore order. Canberra will splash out A$736 million — around $520 million USD — on an unspecified quantity of AIM-260s through the Foreign Military Sales process. On March 17, the U.S. had approved the sale of up to 450 JATMs with an estimated price tag of $3.16 billion USD.

Given that the recently announced order costs significantly less than this sum, Australia is presumably purchasing well under 100 missiles in this first tranche. The AIM-260 will be integrated first onto the RAAF’s F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet, followed by the F-35A and then the EA-18G Growler. Another future Australian candidate is likely to be the MQ-28A Ghost Bat unmanned combat aircraft, which test-fired an AMRAAM last December.

Lockheed Martin’s secretive munition is a GPS-aided air superiority missile with increased range and effectiveness compared to existing U.S. air-to-air weapons. There have still been no official photos released of the missile. The JATM’s capabilities — such as its range, propulsion and seeker — remain heavily classified.

Its range is likely to be at least 120 miles — quite possibly more — which is far superior to the incumbent AIM-120 AMRAAM. Its form factor is similar to the AMRAAM’s to ensure it fits inside the weapon bays of existing fighters.