US Air Force, Raytheon conduct first live-fire test of AMRAAM F3R missile

News, US July 19, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. Air Force and American defense firm Raytheon Missiles & Defense successfully conducted the first live-fire test of AMRAAM F3R, an AIM-120D3 missile, against a target.

According to the Raytheon statement on July 18, the test used production missile hardware developed under the AMRAAM Form, Fit, Function Refresh program. The F3R program updates both the missile’s hardware and software.

U.S. Air Force and Raytheon conducted the missile test on June 30. During the test, the missile was fired from an F-15E Strike Eagle and guided toward an aerial target at long range. The main objective of the test was to prove out sub-system integration which supports all phases of guided flight. The test also demonstrated full system integration and performance.

President of Air Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense Paul Ferraro said, “Our warfighters deserve to have the most advanced technology in the air when they need it. F3R upgrades multiple circuit cards to address obsolescence, enhances the weapon’s capabilities, and extends the production line for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and our Allied partners.”

Paul Ferraro emphasized that “The AMRAAM missile is arguably the most sophisticated air-to-air weapon in use today and for good reason. It has to be in order to address the complex threats we’re seeing from our adversaries.”

The live fire was the first of five planned missile shots in an integrated test series for the AIM-120D3 to qualify the new configuration for production and fielding. These tests incorporate various scenarios and targets to prove out the weapon’s advanced functionality and capabilities. An additional live fire for the Foreign Military Sales AIM-120C8 variant will occur in the near future. These live-fire tests are the culmination of captive flight tests, workup flights, and simulations.

^{An F-15E Strike Eagle equipped with an AIM-120 D3 taxies at Eglin Air Force Base, FL for the first live-fire test of an AMRAAM F3R missile against a target. (Image Credit: U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Lindsey Heflin/Raytheon)}

According to the Raytheon statement, “Under the F3R program, engineers used model-based systems engineering initiatives and other digital technologies to upgrade multiple circuit cards and hardware into the guidance section of the missile and to re-host legacy software in the AIM-120D3 and AIM-120C8 AMRAAMs. Over the past year, F3R software was merged with SIP 3F advanced software capabilities to accelerate the fielding of this combined upgrade to the warfighter.”

“The AIM-120D3 combines with System Improvement Program 3F software updates with F3R hardware, putting tremendous capability against advanced threats into the warfighter’s arsenal,” the statement highlighted.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense is driving new capability into the AMRAAM missile with F3R, or form, fit and function refresh, using modeling to design, analyze, verify and validate the system.