According to the official US Air Force speech, the F35A remains the top equipment priority for years to come, and no program has been launched to replace Lockheed-Martin’s aircraft in the highly ambitious plan which should make it the only replacement for the A10, F16 and part of the F15 currently in service.

As for the Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD (Air force), it is expected for the middle or the end of the next decade to replace the F22 Raptors which will then reach their age limit.

For the US Navy, the discourse is more or less the same, since the NGAD (Navy) program will not enter service before the second half of the next decade, to replace the F / A 18 E / F Super Hornets currently in service. .

Under these circumstances, which device does the contract with the Raytheon missile refer to for the AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missile, which lists devices to implement the missile, including the F22, the F35, the F / A 18 E / F, the F15 and the F16, as well as a new next-generation platform that would enter service by 2029? In any case, this is the question posed by the specialized site Jane’s, after having detected this precise point in the AMRAAM contract.

Artist’s impression of the NGAD US Air Force version by Lockheed-Martin Skunkworks.