The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center\u2019s (AFLCMC) Armament Directorate (EB)\u00a0issued a notice yesterday<\/a>\u00a0regarding the planned AFLRW industry day gathering. The two-day meeting is currently scheduled to take place at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF) at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on August 25 and 26. The Air Force says the event will be held at the Secret classification level and that all attendees have to have appropriate security clearances.<\/p>\n \u201cThe AFLRW is aimed at addressing the next generation of Air-Launched Standoff Weapon variants in line with Department of War priorities,\u201d according to the industry day notice. \u201cAFLRW may select multiple vendors for both the Air-to-Air (A\/A) and Air-to-Surface (A\/S) variants with a focus on A\/A solutions for Initial Operational Capability.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBoth [AFLRW] variants will have a threshold minimum range of 1,000 NM [nautical miles] and be capable of striking respective A\/A and A\/S targets in Defense Planning Scenario 2.1 and 7.1 environments in a responsive manner,\u201d the notice adds. It does not elaborate on what those specific scenarios entail.<\/p>\n The notice also puts particular emphasis on modular components and open-architecture systems, and finding a \u201cMaster Integrator\u201d to combine the various elements into a complete missile, or all-up-round.<\/p>\n \u201cIndustry should expect a quick-turn Whitepaper Request for Information following the event focused on the 2 solution types above for both variants,\u201d per the notice. \u201cAFLCMC is seeking the next generation of Air-Launched Long-Range Weapon variants that expand the United States\u2019 ability to hit priority air, land, and sea targets far and fast!\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond the range threshold, the notice does not include any other details about requirements the Air Force may have now for the AFLRW. That being said, a desire for an anti-air missile able to hit targets at least 1,000 nautical miles away is\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0notable by itself.<\/p>\n Though the exact figures are classified, the AIM-120D-3 version of the AMRAAM, the latest model in widespread U.S. service, is generally understood to have a maximum reach of around 100 miles (close to 87 nautical miles). There have been\u00a0hints that it may be able to fly out further<\/a>\u00a0than that, at least against targets in certain envelopes.\u00a0Longer-range versions<\/a>\u00a0of the AIM-120\u00a0may now be in development<\/a>. A known key requirement for the new\u00a0AIM-260A Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM)<\/a>\u00a0has also been extended reach over the AMRAAM. Still, even the JATM, which the U.S. Navy and Air Force are developing together, is not expected to have anywhere near the range required for the AFLRW.<\/p>\n It is worth noting here that the Air Force almost adopted a very long-range, high-speed missile designed to engage both air and surface targets during the Cold War. However, the maximum range of that\u00a0Advanced Strategic Air-Launched Missile<\/a>\u00a0(ASALM) was still only expected to be 300 miles (260 nautical miles).<\/p>\n Starting in the mid-2000s, the Air Force and the Navy also worked together on a Joint Dual-Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM), intended as a single weapon to supplant the AIM-120 and variants of the AGM-88 anti-radiation missile. This evolved into\u00a0the Next Generation Missile<\/a>\u00a0(NGM), which came to a close, at least publicly, in 2013, ostensibly over rising costs. A more secretive\u00a0Triple Target Terminator<\/a>\u00a0(T-3) program, which had initially been conducted in parallel with JDRADM\/NGM, continued afterward for at least some period of time. In 2017, a possible successor to T-3, the\u00a0Long Range Engagement Weapon<\/a>\u00a0(LREW), but the fate of that effort is unclear.<\/p>\n In February, the Navy put out its own new call for a long-range anti-radiation missile capable of engaging air and surface targets, dubbed the Advanced Emission Suppression Missile (AESM). However, the service did not say what its desired range for this weapon might be at that time. The Navy has already started fielding an air-launched version of the\u00a0multi-purpose Standard Missile-6<\/a>\u00a0(SM-6),\u00a0designated the AIM-174B<\/a>.\u00a0TWZ<\/em>\u00a0has previously assessed the AIM-174B to likely be in the same range category, broadly speaking, as the Cold War-era ASALM. We have previously\u00a0explored in detail how the AIM-174B slots into<\/a>\u00a0the Navy\u2019s long-range kill chains.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f-22-aim-120-launch-stock.jpg\")
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