The Navy has officially acknowledged the existence of a weapon we had posited it was developing for years, an air-launched version of the hugely versatile, far reaching, and hard hitting ship-launched SM-6. Designated the AIM-174, this massive, F/A-18 Super Hornet-carried air-to-air weapon is by default longer-ranged than any other the U.S. has ever fielded. While it isn’t clear if the AIM-174 will also retain the SM-6’s secondary anti-ship and land attack capabilities, just what it could provide in the anti-air and possibly anti-ballistic missile roles could be truly revolutionary. Clearly built to take full advantage of the Pentagon’s emerging ‘kill webs,’ this is especially true when it comes to popping China’s vaunted anti-access bubble by going after its most prized force-multiplier assets. So, how exactly could this work and what does it bring to the table?
We break it all down for you in detail in the video posted at the top of this troy.
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