A derivative of the Aim-120 AMRAAM missile, the Pentagon’s established long-range air-to-air missile, is once again being tailored for a new mission – this time the interception of Scud-type short and medium-range ballistic missiles.
But a senior U.S. Air Force official confides that the capability is inherently that of a cheap, rapidly-deployed, air-launched weapon for shooting down satellites in low-Earth orbit if the service or Missile Defense Agency were to order its further refinement and development.
Raytheon officials say they haven’t researched the ASAT mission and have no opinion about its feasibility. They do note that the AMRAAM derivative isn’t as large or near as energetic as the Raytheon SM3 that shot down an errant NRO
satellite earlier this year. However, they note that if launched at
Mach 0.85 at 30,000-40,000, the new, 358-lb. missile becomes much more capable against objects at altitudes of 30 kms. or more.
The Air Force general was much more blunt.
“If you put the missile in an F-22 and launch it at Mach 2 and 60,000 ft.
while in a zoom and at a 45-degree angle, you’ve got an ASAT capability against spacecraft in low-earth orbit,” he says.
