The U.S. Navy’s appetite for next-generation anti-radar missiles is growing.
A Naval Air Systems Command Request For Information posted on July 1 is asking industry whether it is capable of supplying up to 600 Advanced Emission Suppression Missiles per year.
In February — before the Iran War and the consequent guided missile shortage — NAVAIR posted a Sources Sought notice that stated “production demand is expected to be on the order of up to 300 [all up rounds] per year.”
The new RFI asks for a “mature design” of at least technological readiness stage 6 — the fully functional prototype stage.
“The U.S. Navy is seeking to enhance its capabilities to suppress and neutralize enemy air defenses in contested environments,” the RFI said. “This effort aims to identify and potentially acquire a weapon system focusing on extended range, advanced targeting, counter-countermeasures, and integration with existing and future platforms.”
Both the RFI and the earlier Sources Sought share some details. The Navy wants an “advanced anti-radiation seeker with broad frequency coverage” and the “ability to target modern and advanced radar systems.”
The AESM should be compatible with the F/A-18 E/F and the EA-18G, as well as being capable of mounting internally and externally on the F-35. It should also require minimal maintenance, and have at least a 15-year service life and more than 500 captive carriage flight hours.
But the RFI does not include several specifications contained in the Sources Sought. In particular, the Sources Sought asked companies to “describe ability to engage air-to-air and air-to-ground targets.”
The RFI doesn’t mention an air-to-air capability for the AESM. Nor does it repeat the Sources Sought call for an anti-radiation missile “with a longer range than existing in the Navy’s current inventory.”
The Navy’s existing anti-radar missile, the 1980s AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, or HARM, has a range of up to 80 miles, depending on the launch aircraft’s altitude.
The AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range, or AARGM-ER, has a longer range. But amid development delays — including problems with the rocket motor and software — the Navy has paused procurement for the AGM-88G, with limited procurement set to resume in Fiscal Year 2028.
The U.S. has sent HARMs to Ukraine for use against Russian air defense radars. However, the Ukrainians are replacing them with domestically produced attack drones, perhaps out of concern over the limited number of HARMs received.
Michael Peck is a correspondent for Defense News and a columnist for the Center for European Policy Analysis. He holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University. Find him at theuncommondefense.com. His email is mikedefense1@gmail.com.
