FMRAAM

Description: The AIM-120 AMRAAM is a medium-range, air-to-air missile designed to meet the requirements of the United States and allied nations. The AIM-120 missile is faster, smaller and lighter than its predecessor the AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range missile and also has improved capabilities against low-altitude targets. AMRAAM incorporates active radar seeker with mid-course inertial navigation making it less dependent on aircraft's fire control radar. That capability enables simultaneous AMRAAM launching against different targets. For better performance AMRAAM can receive target location updates from the radar system of the launch aircraft. It has a blast fragmentation warhead detonated by a proximity fuse.

The combat proven AIM-120 AMRAAM missile was employed during military campaigns over Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia. The Air Forces of 18 nations operate the AMRAAM missile. The AMRAAM missile is operational on the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-4F, JAS-39, Sea-Harrier and Tornado aircraft. Raytheon is integrating the AIM-120 on the Eurofighter-Typhoon, F/A-22A and Harrier II+. AIM-120's flexibility concept allows it to be integrated on ground systems becoming a surface-to-air missile. It is being integrated on Norway's NASAMS, Hawk-AMRAAM and HMMWV Surface-to-Air Systems.

The Future Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (FMRAAM) is a ramjet-powered variant of the AIM-120 missile with an estimated maximum range of 100 kilometers. The FMRAAM missile will feature a navigation system based on a combination of satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) with a two-way data-link and an active radar seeker for the terminal phase of the flight. Raytheon offered the FMRAAM to the Royal Air Force but lost against the Meteor air-to-air missile. The US Armed Forces may procure the AMRAAM to counter 100+ km range air-to-air missiles being developed in several countries.