Key Points: Two new air-to-air missiles recently entered US service, significantly expanding capabilities beyond the standard AIM-9X Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM.
-The low-cost ($25k) AGR-20 FALCO, a laser-guided rocket conversion, effectively counters cheap drones and cruise missiles, already proven against Houthi threats.
Block III F/A-18 Super Hornet.
-Conversely, the highly expensive ($4.3M) AIM-174B, an air-launched derivative of the Navy’s SM-6 interceptor, provides extremely long engagement ranges (150-300+ miles) against high-end aerial targets, relying on off-board targeting data.
-These additions offer tailored responses across the threat spectrum, from high-volume drones to distant strategic assets.
Meet FALCO & AIM-174B: The New Air-to-Air Missiles Changing US Air Combat
Over the past year, the United States has put two new air-to-air missiles into service without a great deal of fanfare. However, these missiles double the number of air intercept weapon types carried by American fighters, and dramatically expand the types of threats these jets can bring down, and, especially, the ranges in which they can do so.
America’s current standard air-to-air missile options is the long-serving, infrared guided, short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder, and the comparatively new, long range, radar-guided AIM-120 AMRAAM. Both of these weapons have seen near-constant revisions since entering service. The latest AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder is said to be able to pull 60Gs while maneuvering toward targets potentially more than 20 miles out. Today’s most advanced AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM is among the best beyond-visual-range weapons in the world, with a maximum publicly disclosed range of 112 miles.
Yet, with a cost around $450,000 and a million dollars respectively, neither of these weapons are great choices for bringing down low-cost kamikaze drones that may range in price from as low as $50,000 to as much as $500,000 – and that is where the AGR-20 FALCO, or Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II, comes in.
This air-to-air missile technically isn’t an air-to-air missile at all. The AGR-20 FALCO started out as an inexpensive unguided 70mm Hydra rocket, with a new laser guidance section added behind the warhead but ahead of the rocket motor, converting it to a guided air-to-air drone killer.
The FALCO can be carried and launched by a wide number of fighters, rotorcraft, and even ground platforms. It uses a laser designator to identify drones from as far as 7.5 miles out and then closes with the target at speeds approaching Mach 3.
At just $25,000 a pop, and thanks to a four-pound blast fragmentation warhead designed specifically for engaging these sorts of high-volume targets, the AGR-20 FALCO is well suited for downing drones and cruise missiles.
Two U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets fly a combat patrol over Afghanistan in 2008. The aircraft in the background is deploying infra-red flares.
It was used in combat for the first time in March of this year to shoot down Houthi drones.
On the other end of the spectrum, last year the U.S. Navy introduced the massive and rather expensive AIM-174B on its Super Hornets. This extremely-long-range air-to-air missile started out as the Navy’s ship-launched SM-6 interceptor. The SM-6 is so capable that it’s already America’s only surface-to-air interceptor that’s said to be capable of bringing down hypersonic missiles.
But when hanging under the wing of an F/A-18 Super Hornet, these incredibly capable weapons can engage airborne threats from ranges of at least 150 miles and likely, more than 300, as surface-launched versions can reportedly hit targets from 290 miles out.
As such, this weapon doesn’t get its target data not from the launching aircraft, but from stealth fighters flying farther ahead.
The AIM-174B has massive 140-pound blast-fragmentation warhead that not only allows for a wide intercept envelope for airborne targets, but offers a secondary ground-attack capability with seven times the explosive power of a Hellfire missile.
At around 1,900 pounds and more than 15 feet long, the AIM-174 is at least three feet longer and more than five times heavier than the AIM-120 AMRAAM, But, while the AGR-20 is a bargain, the AIM-174’s extreme capability comes with a similarly extreme price tag of an estimated $4.3 million per missile.
About the Author: Alex Hollings
Alex Hollings is the editor of the Sandboxx blog and a former U.S. Marine that writes about defense policy and technology. He lives with his wife and daughter in Georgia.
