US DoD selects Raytheon for AIM-9X system improvement
An F-16 Fighting Falcon during a successful AIM-9X Sidewinder test. (Photo: US Air Force)
Raytheon has been awarded a contract modification worth $37 million to procure Operation Flight Software Version 9.5 and additional support.
The stipulated support includes hardware and software risk reduction efforts in support of the AIM-9X system improvement programme for the Navy and Air Force.
Work will be performed in Arizona and California, and the contract is expected to be completed in December 2023.
Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation funds worth $1.5 million from the Air Force and Navy will be obligated at the time of the award.
Recently, in September 2020, Raytheon was contracted to provide support for the development of Operational Flight Software 10.15, which is required for the production of AIM-9X Block II missiles, by the Naval Air Systems command.
AIM-9X Block II is being produced for the USAF, USN and various FMS customers such as Canada, other NATO allies and nations in Asia and the Middle East.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range AAM that entered US military service in 1956, with variants and upgrades remaining active to the present day.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
How do we detect and defeat enemy drones?
Learn about the portfolio of sensors and effectors for the complete counter-UAS mission at Raytheon, an RTX business.
-
BAE Systems lauds counter-UAS drone progression with live fire trials
The US-based tests successfully demonstrated the first live trial of a precision guided missile from a modified TRV-150 drone which destroyed both aerial and ground targets.
-
India readies private sector push as AMCA moves towards 2028 prototype
India’s stealth fighter ambitions gain fresh momentum as HAL opens the door to private sector involvement in AMCA Mk1A structural assembly, with strategic support growing for next-gen propulsion and sensor technologies.
-
BAE Systems reveals new GCAP demonstrator design with plans to fly by 2027
A key part in the trinational Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), this is the first crewed supersonic aircraft demonstrator to be built and developed in the UK in more than 40 years.
-
Kratos Defense makes European CCA push with Airbus partnership
Kratos’ XQ-58A Valkyrie will be equipped with an Airbus-made mission system to be offered as a ‘European’ collaborative combat aircraft option to the German Air Force.
-
Anduril’s Barracuda-100M completes latest successful test flights
The munitions variant of the Barrauda-100 autonomous air vehicle is being tested for the US Army’s High-Speed Manoeuvrable Missile (HSMM) testbed programme, with further flight tests expected in 2026.