Given the increased uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific, the United States has developed a new air-to-air missile designed to give the U.S. military and its allies a competitive advantage over China.

In modern warfare, the ability to conduct long-range standoff attacks is of critical strategic importance. This is especially true when the adversary is China, which has a sophisticated anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) network along its coast that makes its airspace almost impenetrable.

As more and more states in the Indo-Pacific region acquire long-range strike capabilities, the region appears to be on the verge of a new missile war. Important US allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan and Australia, have purchased Tomahawk and SM-6 long-range missiles from the US. South Korea has also received approval to purchase SM-6.

In addition to these two surface- and sea-launched missiles that have already shaken China, the United States recently introduced a long-range air-to-air missile, the AIM-174B, which is rapidly gaining attention in the Indo-Pacific region.

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The AIM-174B, officially confirmed for deployment in July 2024, is the longest-range missile the US has ever deployed. Analysts say the US Navy’s introduction of advanced long-range air-to-air missiles in the Indo-Pacific could potentially neutralise China’s air dominance. The development is part of an increasing focus on show of force in response to heightened regional tensions, as recently detailed in a comprehensive Reuters report.

On July 2, 2024, two AIM-174B missiles – the air-launched version of the SM-6 missile – carried by an F/A-18E Super Hornet of VFA-192 “Golden Dragons” on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson were photographed as the aircraft taxied at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The AIM-174B designation on the missiles indicated that they were very long-range air-to-air missiles.

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The US Navy’s combat power would be enhanced by integrating air-launched variants of these missiles into its Super Hornet aircraft. Fired from high altitudes, these missiles are capable of destroying ships and intercepting incoming ballistic missiles from distances comparable to enemy aircraft hundreds of miles away.

More importantly, the United States needed a missile with a longer range than China’s PL-15 long-range missile – and now it has one.

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How China narrowed the US lead

Escalating tensions in at least two major flashpoints in the Indo-Pacific – the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait – have increased the possibility of conflict between the United States and China.

As a result, both sides are preparing for a possible fight, or at least a limited-arms confrontation. For the US, China’s biggest air threat is its long-range PL-15 air-to-air missile, which is said to have a range of 200 to 300 kilometers. The arrival of the PL-15 missiles has changed the balance of power to the detriment of the US.

Previously, AIM-120 missiles were sufficient for many years with the US Air Force’s fifth-generation stealth aircraft, the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II, considering that the AIM-120 has an effective range of about 150 kilometers.

In addition, the U.S. military has focused on modernizing the AMRAAM (modern medium-range air-to-air missile AIM-120) and has been able to significantly improve its performance over the years, Justin Bronk, an air force and technology expert at the Royal United Services Institute in London, noted in a statement to Reuters.

Until a few years ago, stealth aircraft equipped with the AIM-120 had the strategic advantage of being able to carry out the first strike.

This firmly established American dominance was challenged by the introduction of the Chinese J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter, as Kelly Grieco, senior fellow at the Stimson Center, pointed out. To make matters worse, these fighters were equipped with the long-range PL-15 missile.

Using the J-20 stealth aircraft equipped with a PL-15 long-range missile, a Chinese fighter pilot could be able to identify and shoot down unstealthed US aircraft without them being able to take countermeasures.

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In addition, this could force American stealth aircraft to operate at dangerously close ranges to fire their missiles effectively, which poses significant risks given the Chinese military’s state-of-the-art air defense systems.

“If a Chinese fighter jet can outfly an American fighter jet, that means it can fire the first shot,” Kelly Grieco said. “It’s hard to outrun a plane traveling at Mach 4.”

According to EurAsian Times’ knowledge, China has manufactured and deployed at least 200 J-20 fighter jets, which are equipped with numerous PL-15 missiles both in stock and integrated into the aircraft.

The US, for its part, is working on developing a top-secret long-range missile: the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM). Although the missile was first announced in 2019, it has not yet entered mass production and its launch is still a long way off.

This is where the AIM-174B comes into play, an air-launched variant of the popular SM-6, and changes the rules of the game for the US, which continues to be at loggerheads with China in the Indo-Pacific.

AIM-174B exceeds the range of the PL-15

In modern combat, first strike advantage is often crucial. The AIM-174B was therefore developed to address this problem. With the AIM-174B, the Super Hornet would have an air-to-air weapon that could combat a wide range of air threats from hundreds of kilometers away. This is a major advantage over the AIM-120 AMRAAM, as previously explained in a report by the EurAsian Times.

The range of the AIM-174B far exceeds that of the Chinese PL-15, at about 400 kilometers. This means that American fighter jets can safely hit “high-value” Chinese targets such as command and control aircraft and keep threats further away from aircraft carriers in the event of a conflict.

In addition, military experts have almost unanimously highlighted three key advantages: no new production lines are required, the missile can fly several times further than the next best American alternative, the AIM-120 AMRAAM, and it can be deployed with aircraft from at least one ally, namely Australia.

Since the threat of conflict with China is never over and China is rapidly producing and deploying its long-range missiles, the introduction of the AIM-174B would massively increase US firepower. It would allow the US Navy to target enemy aircraft and launch repeated attacks to disable the sophisticated Anti Area/Access Denial (A2/AD) system.

Most importantly, it would help thwart an enemy attack. The AIM-174B launch platform, which could be integrated into the F-35, the Aegis, and the E-2D (an American tactical airborne early warning aircraft that can be deployed on carriers), would increase the Navy’s range for intercepting airborne targets.

This would be done under the Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) architecture. The Navy currently intercepts maritime targets with the basic SM-6 system.

Since the SM-6 was originally intended for ship-based air defense, Raytheon says production lines are already available. However, the manufacturer has not disclosed information on how many SM-6s will be converted to the AIM-174B standard, especially since it has ordered the SM-6 from foreign customers.

China is already working on developing air-launched missiles with a range that exceeds that of the PL-15. As the EurAsian Times previously reported, the PL-17 has a range of 400 kilometers, making it one of the longest-range air-to-air missiles in the world. The missile was demonstrated late last year along with a J-16.

However, aviation experts point out that it may take some time before the PL-17 is fully integrated into the fighter jets of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

With the AIM-174B, the US may have managed to turn the tide in its favor. The US and its long-time ally Australia operate Super Hornets in the region. Since the Super Hornet is a carrier-capable aircraft, the allies’ advantage over China is multiplied.

Still, much will depend on how many of these missiles can be produced and deployed quickly, as time is of the essence and China is continually developing new lethal capabilities.