The AIM-120 is an all-weather, radar guided, air-to-air missile with launch-and-leave capability in both the beyond-visual-range and within-visual-range arenas, enabling a single aircraft to simultaneously engage multiple targets with multiple missiles. The U.S. Air Force and Navy, as well as several foreign military forces, use the AIM-120. Currently employed by the F-15C, F-15E, F-16, and F/A-18C/D, the AIM-120 will also be employed by the F/A-18E/F and F-22.

The AIM-120B missile resulted from the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Producibility Enhancement Program. Major improvements in the missile included a new digital processor, erasable programmable read only memory, and five electronic unit hardware chassis upgrades. The AIM-120B is in production for foreign military sales only.

The AIM-120C was modified by clipping its wings to reduce its box size from 17.4 to 12.5 inches to allow internal carriage in the F-22. Block change lethality improvements are being incorporated into the missile from Lot 8 and beyond, culminating in a new warhead and lengthened rocket motor in Lot 12. All current U.S. deliveries are of the AIM-120C configuration.

The AIM-120 contributes to Joint Vision 2010 by providing the warfighter with a precision engagement weapon.

The AMRAAM program entered FSD in September 1982. The DAB approved LRIP in June 1987; authorized continued LRIP in May 1991; and entered full-rate production (Milestone III) in April 1992. The Air Force declared AMRAAM IOC with the F-15 in September 1991 and with the F-16 in January 1992. The Navy declared AMRAAM IOC in October 1993.

FOT&E(1) was completed in May 1993. AIM-120 FOT&E(2) was completed and documented in 1996. Begun in May 1993, this phase of testing included the launch of 40 missiles from 12 shot profiles under various test conditions and continued the captive-carry reliability program (CCRP) testing on the F-16. Missiles from production Lots 4 through 8, including both AIM-120A and AIM-120B missiles, were tested on F-15 and F-16 aircraft. Twenty-four of the live launches were missiles from the CCRP inventory. The live shots were designed to evaluate missile end-game performance against advanced ECM threats and warhead lethality in more challenging end-game scenarios. The final FOT&E(2) live launch test event occurred in December 1995.

An updated TEMP and Test Plan to define FOT&E(3) activities was approved in 1996. This TEMP included Live Fire Test characterization of the new contact fuze and testing of the new warhead against bomber components, as requested by DOT&E. The TEMP approval letter also stated that DOT&E would submit a LFT&E report to Congress at completion of FOT&E(3). FOT&E(3) will emphasize testing of lethality improvements incorporated in missiles from Lot 8 and higher, culminating with the new warhead in Lot 12.

The FOT&E(3) TEMP's specific flight test objectives include evaluation of Lots 8 through 10 hardware and software tapes 5 and 7. This test phase, planned for completion in March 1999, includes 28 live launches and 60 AMRAAM Captive Equipment missions, along with a 4,100-hour CCRP. The Navy Operational Test-IIID operational test phase, scheduled for completion during FY99, will consist of at least eight live missile firings which will verify integration of the AIM-120C with F/A-18C/D aircraft equipped with the APG-73 radar.

Air Force progress towards meeting their FOT&E(3) test objectives was hampered by drone unavailability during most of the year due to: (1) a lack of QF-4 drones capable of carrying ALQ-167 jamming pods, which prevented ECM testing; (2) higher-priority programs utilizing available drones; and (3) drone throttle problems with QF-4s. As a result, only three live fire missions with five missiles fired were completed by the Air Force this year. These test missions were all successfully completed. Ten AMRAAM Captive Equipment missions were also completed by the Air Force this year.

LFT&E activity focused on the planning and execution of arena tests for the AMRAAM P3I warhead against a suite of gray and threat targets. DOT&E participated and provided oversight for the first arena test against a cruise missile and a bomber section on April 7, 1998. Pre-test predictions were provided to DOT&E after the test was executed. The second arena test, against two foreign fighter targets, was completed in October 1998. A third arena test is pending final analysis of previous test data.

Limited aircraft/missile testing conducted this year did not uncover any new missile problems, and showed some progress toward solving existing missile inadequacies in challenging launch environments. A "pin residue" problem surfaced for missiles manufactured during FY98, which reduced the projected reliability of the missiles. This problem was caused by chemical reaction acting on the circuit board connector pins due to stress corrosion from vibration, and eventually leads to intermittent shorting. The corrective action is to increase the torque on the circuit board connectors. Prior to operational use, the Built-in-Test identifies bad circuit connectors. However, the missiles still appear to exhibit Mean Time Between Failures in excess of the 450-hour requirement.

Emerging LFT&E results indicate that the P3I warhead works as planned. As more data becomes available, this assessment will be updated to provide a preliminary assessment of warhead lethality.

The current Test Plan is under revision for the FOT&E(3) test phase scheduled to be completed in November 2000. It will evaluate AIM-120C-5 missiles configured with the improved warhead, guidance and ECM improvements, as well as the lengthened rocket motor.