Key Points and Summary: The U.S. Air Force’s new Stand-In Attack Weapon (SiAW), developed by Northrop Grumman, is designed to penetrate enemy air defenses and strike high-value targets.
-Unlike its predecessor, the AARGM-ER, SiAW can target a wider range of threats, including missile launchers, radar systems, and jammers.
-Built for internal carriage on stealth aircraft like the F-35 and B-21, it ensures maximum survivability in contested airspace.
-Recent testing on an F-16 at White Sands Missile Range demonstrated its potential, marking a significant leap in U.S. airpower.
-With its precision and adaptability, SiAW is set to redefine the future of aerial warfare.
SiAW Missile: How the Air Force Plans to Crush Enemy Defenses
Northrop Grumman’s Stand-In Attack Weapon, or SiAW, is a new air-to-ground U.S. Air Force missile designed to engage high-priority enemy targets and is, in essence, an advanced derivative of the United States anti-radiation missiles.
The SiAW’s role would be to open aerial corridors — clearing the way for other aircraft to operate safely in contested environments.
The SiAW is specifically designed to target important enemy defense nodes, including radar installations, missile launchers, or other target sets, to make open aerial corridors, essentially clearing the way for itself and other aircraft to fly uncontested from the ground in otherwise highly contested environments.
Northrup Grumman explains that “the U.S. Air Force’s SiAW missile system enables disruption of an Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environment through rapid, lethal engagement of relocatable targets.”
Importantly, the Stand-In Attack Weapon is, as its name suggests, designed to leverage the F-35’s stealth profile and be used in contested environments rather than as a stand-off weapon far away from danger. The SiAW could also arm stealth aircraft like the B-2 Spirit and B-21 Raider bombers.
Out with the Old, in with the New
One of the most significant differences between the new SiAW and its predecessors is its adaptability. It builds upon the technologies found in the AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range, or AARGM-ER.
Still, it can engage a much broader set of targets than just enemy radar systems.
Official budgetary documents explain that “the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) system will provide capability to strike rapidly re-locatable targets that create the Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environment for 5th Generation and Future Advanced Aircraft. SiAW targets include Theater Ballistic Missile Launchers, Land Attack and Anti-Ship Cruise Missile Launchers, Jammers, Anti-Satellite Systems, and Integrated Air Defense Systems.”
The B-21 Raider was unveiled to the public at a ceremony December 2, 2022 in..Palmdale, Calif. Designed to operate in tomorrow’s high-end threat environment, the B-21 will play a critical role in ensuring America’s enduring airpower capability. (U.S. Air Force photo)
While the AARGM-ER is primarily an anti-radiation missile that locates and homes in on enemy radar emissions and radar installations, the SiAW has a more versatile targeting capability, allowing it to strike various high-value battlefield assets.
The SiAW also features upgrades to its propulsion and guidance, giving the missiles excellent range and lethality against time-sensitive or moving targets.
Although Lockheed Martin also developed a prototype weapon for the U.S. Air Force, as did L3Harris, both companies decided not to enter phase two testing, leaving Northrup Grumman as the sole contractor in the running for the Air Force contract.
Recent Testing on SiAW
The missile was recently tested on November 7th of last year, when it was launched from an F-16 Fighting Falcon at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Although an F-16 served launched the missile during the test, the SiAW is ultimately intended to be carried internally by the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II.
A Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35C Joint Strike Fighter is shown on the deck of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier after making the plane’s first ever carrier landing using its tailhook system, off the coast of California, November 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES – Tags: TRANSPORT MILITARY)/File Photo
“The new SiAW missile is designed to provide strike capability against rapidly relocatable targets like cruise and antiship missile launchers and jamming platforms,” the Air Force said in a press release, marking the successful release of the missile. “The test missile used, called a jettison test vehicle, contained no rocket motor or internal electronics.”
Internal Carriage
One of the significant advantages of the SiAW over its predecessors, like the AARGM-ER, is its ability to fit within the F-35’s internal weapons bay, allowing the aircraft to maintain its stealth characteristics and modest radar cross-section.
Internal carriage allows the F-35 to operate more freely in contested environments, as it is less vulnerable to enemy targeting systems and also improves range and flight characteristics compared to externally carried weapons.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
