Anti-Stealth Missile? The US Air Force has accelerated its next-generation missile (NGM), also known as the JDRADM (Joint Dual Role Air Dominance Missile). The missile is intended as a follow-on to the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile and the AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missile. According to documents released recently in the FY12 budget process, the Air Force expects to commit about $490 million to RDT&E on the missile in FY12-FY16, a substantial increase over the spending envisioned under last year's FY11 budget plan. Publicly, the Air Force describes the program as an effort to combine the AAM and ARM missions in a single missile, saving precious hard-point space on fighters. However, this does not explain the sudden acceleration of the program.
展开▼
