In late August 2026, the U.S. Navy released a test image of a new long-range air-to-air missile. The official handout is a single photo; the parameters have to be inferred. From circulating information, The War Zone and Aviation Week assembled a working set of figures: reportedly a Raytheon-built weapon, 4.11 m long, 0.34 m in diameter, 680.4 kg in launch weight, a claimed range beyond 463 km, a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, and what appears to be a two-stage design.
The commentator Shen Yi (沈逸) identifies the missile by a simpler test: anyone who sees a 13.5-inch diameter and cannot tell what it is has forfeited their U.S.-military-watcher's credentials. Same solid rocket motor, same 13.5-inch diameter, comparable length — AIM-424 is slightly shorter, but it shares the same warhead-integration approach, the two missiles sit at the same order-of-magnitude in weight (AIM-424 at 680 kg, the other at 860 kg), and both come from Raytheon. What he is describing is the air-launched version of SM-2 / SM-6.
Place those numbers inside the U.S. air-to-air missile coordinate system and the position snaps into focus.
| Missile | Length | Diameter | Launch Weight | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIM-120 (AMRAAM) | 3.65 m | 0.178 m | — | Medium-range AAM baseline |
| AIM-424 (LRAAM) | 4.11 m | 0.34 m | 680.4 kg | One-third the volume of SM-6; 4.5× heavier than AIM-120 |
| SM-6 (Air-Launched) | 6.6 m | 0.53 m | ~860 kg | Long-range intercept baseline |
The AIM-424 lands exactly in the middle — 4.11 m long, 0.34 m in diameter, a volume of roughly one-third of SM-6, yet it packs 680 kg of mass, 4.5 times the AIM-120's weight. In the released photo it looks like a thick pipe.
Long-range air-to-air missiles have always been a business of trading volume for range: AIM-54, R-37, the air-launched SM-6 — all of them. That AIM-424 can be carried in the F-35C's internal bay already counts as a real concession to volume. Its very existence shows that the U.S. Navy's demand for "beyond-visual-range first strike + anti-carrier platform intercept" has now become visible enough to be put on public display.
Shen Yi leaves room for skepticism on the paper figures: at a diameter of only 0.34 m, internal propellant volume is limited, and both high-altitude terminal kinetic energy and maneuverability / overload likely fall well short of the SM-6-derived AIM-174B. The numbers circulating online look suspiciously tailored to the requirements line — could this be PowerPoint-grade? And what draws a knowing smile from military enthusiasts on both sides of the Pacific is that Chinese and American watchers, rarely in sync on anything, are laughing at this bulky weapon together.
The mere fact that AIM-424 has gone public is itself a signal: the U.S. Navy has promoted "beyond-visual-range first strike + anti-carrier platform intercept" from a line item in budget documents to a milestone it is willing to display. But the size arithmetic suggests something closer to a "good enough" bridge solution — fitting the F-35C internally costs propellant volume, and terminal energy and maneuverability almost certainly lag behind the SM-6-derived AIM-174B. A single test image admits the requirement; what it leaves behind is the open question: can this missile actually be mass-produced, and at what unit price? In the rare moment when Chinese and U.S. military-watchers are complaining about the same weapon, both are voicing the same suspicion of paper-grade specifications.
The U.S. Navy has released the AIM-424 LRAAM test image; The War Zone / Aviation Week circulated parameters (tentative): Raytheon, 4.11 m, 0.34 m, 680.4 kg, range 463 km+, high-explosive fragmentation warhead, possibly two-stage; compared with AIM-120 (3.65 m / 0.178 m) and SM-6 (6.6 m / 0.53 m) — one-third the volume of SM-6, 4.5× the weight of AIM-120; stowable in the F-35C's internal bay; suspected weaker high-altitude terminal kinetic energy and maneuver overload than AIM-174B.
Anyone who sees 13.5 inches and cannot tell what it is has forfeited their U.S.-military-watcher's credentials. Same solid rocket motor, same 13.5-inch diameter, comparable length (AIM-424 slightly shorter), same warhead-integration approach, weights in the 700 kg neighborhood (424 at 680 kg, the other at 860 kg), both built by Raytheon — that is the air-launched version of SM-2 / SM-6.