Following Pakistan’s success in downing Indian fighter jets with Chinese-made ultra-long-range missiles, new budget requests reveal that the United States is poised to begin production of its own next-generation weapon: the Lockheed Martin AIM-260. According to documents and a service statement cited by Bloomberg, the U.S. Air Force and Navy have requested nearly $1 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, beginning October 1, to kick-start production of the classified missile system.
The Air Force, which is leading the development of the AIM-260, officially known as the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM), has requested $368 million for its initial production run, along with an additional $300 million on its “Unfunded Priorities List.” The Navy, for its part, has requested $301 million. Analysts at Melius Research suggested last year that the missile could become a $30 billion program, a much-needed boost for Lockheed Martin following a recent earnings report that flagged $1.6 billion in charges and a potential $4.6 billion tax accounting liability.
When the AIM-260 is eventually fielded, it will become the most advanced U.S. air-to-air missile, a role long held by the increasingly sophisticated versions of the RTX Inc, AIM-120 AMRAAM, which was introduced in 1993. The Air Force has not specified what developments led to the decision to move into production now.
Air-launched weapons capable of engaging planes at extreme ranges gained prominence in May, when Pakistani jets used Chinese-made PL-15 missiles to down Indian aircraft from more than 100 miles away without risking return fire, according to experts. Last year’s Pentagon report on Chinese military power stated that the Chinese air force had likely declared the PL-17 air-to-air missile operational in 2023, noting that the PL-15 follow-on “is believed to be able to strike targets from 400 kilometres (248 miles).”
The new U.S. missile “will have increased range over existing air-to-air weapons and will be effective in a variety of threat scenarios,” the Air Force said. A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman stated in 2023 that the AIM-120 model supplied to his country has a range of about 100 miles. The AIM-260 is designed to fit the internal weapons bays of the F-22 and F-35 fighters, and the Air Force added that it would also be integrated with F-16 and F-15 jets.
