The US Navy has introduced the AIM-174B, an exceedingly long-range air-to-air weapon, in the Indo-Pacific, aiming to counter China’s flying dominance. This implementation is a part of a larger plan to boost US strength as regional tensions get worse.
Operational since July, the AIM-174B, derived from Raytheon’s SM-6 air defence weapon, is now the longest-range weapon always fielded by the US. Capable of striking targets up to 400 km ( 250 miles ) away, it surpasses the range of China’s PL-15 missile, providing US jets a critical edge in aerial engagements, Reuters reported.
One of the major benefits of the AIM-174B is its ability to fly many times farther than the AIM-120 AMRAAM, the preceding long-range US weapon. This capability allows the AIM-174B to preserve Chinese threats at bay, protecting important US goods such as airplane providers and enabling attacks on high-value Chinese targets, including command-and-control flights.
” The United States can ensure the safety of their important assets, such as carrier groups, and launch long-range strikes on PLA targets”, said Chieh Chung, a researcher at the Taipei-based think tank Association of Strategic Foresight.
The West has long struggled to achieve this level of capability. The AIM-120, the standard long-range missile for US aircraft, has a maximum range of about 150 km ( 93 miles ), forcing US jets to fly deeper into contested territories and exposing them to significant risks. The US Navy would have to operate within a few hundred kilometers of Chinese forces in a potential conflict in the South China Sea or in a Taiwan-related conflict, increasing the risk for US aircraft carriers as a result of anti-ship attacks.
The AIM-174B changes this dynamic, allowing the US to keep PLA carrier-hunting aircraft out of firing range and even threaten Chinese planes attacking Taiwan, according to Cheih Chung.
The main benefit of this is that it allows the US to sway a little bit further into the South China Sea during a conflict, according to a senior US defense technical analyst. Additionally, it has the potential to alter Chinese behavior because it will place large, slow, and manuvrable aircraft at greater risk.
For decades, the United States relied on the advantage of stealth fighters like the F-117, F-22, and F-35, making missiles like the AIM-120 sufficient. However, the advent of Chinese stealth aircraft, such as the J-20, and the longer-range PL-15 missile it can carry, has eroded the US edge. A stealthy Chinese aircraft could theoretically spot non-stealthy US aircraft and shoot them down well beyond the range where they could even fight back, according to Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center.
” A Chinese fighter can outrange an American fighter, but it means they can get the first shot.” It’s hard to outrun something that’s travelling at Mach 4″, she said.
The AIM-174B was developed to quickly address this need. In parallel, the US Air Force is working on a separate program, the secretive Lockheed Martin AIM-260, which aims to develop an extremely long-range air-to-air missile small enough for stealth aircraft to carry internally.
China is also working on longer-range missiles, such as the PL-15. However, Justin Bronk, an airpower expert at London’s Royal United Services Institute, pointed out that the radar on these launching aircraft might not be able to spot targets at such extended distances.
” If you go too big and too heavy with the missiles, you end up trading off fuel for the aircraft”, he added.
The use of the Raytheon SM-6, initially designed for a ship-launched air defense role, means that production lines are already available, and funding exists for more than 100 SM-6 missiles a year. Although Raytheon declined to comment on the number of AIM-174Bs that would be produced, its versatility opens up possibilities beyond the AIM-174B, such as putting the missile in contact with an anti-radar seeker to launch long-range missiles from a distance.
Even with limited numbers, the AIM-174B’s deployment alters the strategic calculus in a potential regional conflict. As a senior technical analyst noted,” If this is enough to push China’s high-value aircraft way back, then you do n’t need many. The adversary has changed their behavior as a result of the threat… It makes it simpler to imagine a South China Sea scenario.
