(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The United States Air Force has achieved a historic milestone in air combat capability after a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor executed the longest known successful engagement with the Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).

The feat, officially revealed by RTX’s Raytheon division on September 16, 2025, demonstrates how legacy platforms like the F-22 continue to expand their lethality envelope through advanced missile upgrades.

The U.S. Air Force did not disclose the precise distance between the F-22 and its target at the moment the radar-guided missile was launched.

Conducted in late 2024, the record-breaking test reinforced the relevance of the Raptor-AMRAAM pairing at a time when peer adversaries are fielding increasingly longer-range weapons such as China’s PL-15 and Russia’s R-37M.

This development is not merely a technical achievement—it is a strategic message that the United States is determined to maintain air superiority well into the next decade.

The test also highlights Washington’s determination to keep the Raptor combat-relevant despite production ending in 2012.

It underscores the U.S. approach of maximizing existing platforms while bridging towards sixth-generation NGAD capabilities.

By extending missile lethality, the U.S. addresses concerns that adversary systems could neutralize aerial refueling and airborne early warning aircraft, which are vital to force projection.

The record is also a deterrence signal aimed squarely at Beijing and Moscow, showing that American fighters can still strike effectively at extreme ranges.

It further reassures allies who rely on the AMRAAM for their own defensive postures, particularly in Europe and Asia.

READ: U.S. 5th-Gen Stealth Fighter F-22 “Raptors” Arrive in Singapore for Joint Training in South China Sea

The Record-Breaking Shot: Extending the Kill Chain

The test took place over the Gulf Range Complex near Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, a 130,000-square-mile training zone designed for supersonic and live-fire air combat.

Flying at high altitude and high speed, the F-22 launched the upgraded AIM-120D-3 under the Form, Fit, Function Refresh (F3R) program, exploiting optimal release conditions to maximize range.

Although the precise distance remains classified, Raytheon confirmed that the missile demonstrated “extended time-of-flight capability” and exceeded the F-15C Eagle’s previous 2021 record.

Jon Norman, Raytheon’s vice president of requirements and capabilities, stated: “We were able to fly it much longer. It’s flying higher and longer. We can fly at a much faster speed at release, which just improves the performance of the missile.”

The target, believed to be a drone surrogate, validated the missile’s endurance against representative threats while showcasing the Raptor’s ability to exploit altitude and speed as force multipliers.

Sam Deneke, Raytheon’s Air & Space Defense Systems president, added: “AMRAAM is already known as the gold standard for the air dominance arena, and these tests prove it will continue to play a critical role for the U.S. and its allies for decades to come.”

This test not only validated the missile’s aerodynamic improvements but also the data-link connectivity between fighter and missile over extended time of flight.

It demonstrated the F-22’s ability to conduct engagements that rely on precision networked targeting, a crucial aspect of modern kill-chain warfare.

The scenario replicated conditions where stealth fighters engage targets well beyond visual range, neutralizing them before a counter-shot is possible.

It also confirms that future tactics will increasingly rely on cooperative engagement capabilities, linking F-22s with F-35s, AWACS, and satellites.

The achievement shows the U.S. is closing the perceived gap created by China’s PL-15 and Russia’s R-37M long-range missile successes.

PL-15 and R-37M: The Adversary’s Long-Range Challenge

China’s PL-15 has emerged as the primary beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), reportedly featuring a range between 200 and 300 kilometers.

Equipped with an advanced active radar seeker and supported by two-way datalink connectivity, the PL-15 is designed to threaten high-value enablers such as airborne early warning aircraft and aerial refueling tankers.

The missile’s ramjet-powered propulsion ensures sustained velocity deep into its engagement envelope, complicating interception attempts by enemy fighters and air defense systems.

Operationally, it provides the J-10C, J-16, and stealthy J-20 fighters with a significant standoff advantage in contested airspace.

Russia’s R-37M, meanwhile, has demonstrated lethal effectiveness in Ukraine, where it has been credited with confirmed long-range kills against Ukrainian fighters at distances approaching 300 kilometers.

The missile, weighing nearly 600 kilograms, is optimized for launch from high-speed platforms such as the MiG-31BM Foxhound interceptor and the Su-35 Flanker-E multirole fighter.

Its massive solid-propellant rocket motor and large active radar seeker enable it to engage fast-moving fighter aircraft as well as slower, high-value targets across a broad flight spectrum.

The R-37M’s high speed—exceeding Mach 5—reduces enemy reaction time and presents formidable challenges to defensive countermeasures.

Together, the PL-15 and R-37M represent the cutting edge of non-Western long-range air-to-air missile development, forcing the U.S. and NATO to accelerate programs like the AIM-260 JATM.

These systems fundamentally alter air combat dynamics by shifting the threat envelope far beyond traditional BVR ranges, intensifying the arms race for aerial dominance in both the Indo-Pacific and European theaters.

The F-22 Raptor: Stealth and Supremacy at the Edge of Innovation

The F-22 Raptor remains the cornerstone of America’s fifth-generation air dominance strategy since entering service in 2005.

Engineered for stealth, supercruise, and unmatched agility, the aircraft integrates its AN/APG-77 AESA radar with sensor fusion to detect, track, and neutralize threats before being detected.

Its internal weapons bays enable the carriage of six AIM-120 missiles in a stealth configuration, ensuring long-range lethality without compromising survivability.

Over the past decade, the U.S. Air Force has invested heavily in upgrades, including improved radars, enhanced electronic warfare systems, and the addition of an Infrared Defensive System (IRDS) to counter emerging threats.

With extended-range stealth fuel tanks and software modernization, the F-22 is expected to remain a critical deterrent until sixth-generation systems under the NGAD program reach operational maturity.

Despite its limited production run of just 187 units, the Raptor has been continuously modernized to ensure relevance in the era of hypersonic missiles and advanced air defenses.

It has participated in real-world operations across the Middle East, proving its ability to dominate contested skies and integrate seamlessly with fourth-generation assets.

Recent upgrades also enable the F-22 to act as a “quarterback” in joint-force operations, sharing targeting data with F-35s and unmanned aircraft.

Its supercruise and stealth profile make it uniquely suited to deliver long-range missile shots without alerting adversary radars.

By sustaining its combat relevance, the F-22 serves as a critical bridge between current fifth-generation and future sixth-generation air combat systems.

READ: The U.S. Air Force Plans to Retire 32 F-22 “Raptors”, But Faces Opposition from Congress

AIM-120 AMRAAM: From Fire-and-Forget to Record-Breaking

The AIM-120 AMRAAM, first deployed in the early 1990s, revolutionized BVR combat with its active radar seeker and fire-and-forget capability.

It has since become the backbone of NATO and allied air forces, integrated on more than a dozen fighter platforms and achieving over 6,000 live-fire launches with unmatched combat reliability.

Successive upgrades expanded its reach: the AIM-120A/B with 50–70 km range, the AIM-120C with clipped fins for stealth fighters and 100+ km reach, and the AIM-120D with ranges exceeding 160 km, GPS-assisted navigation, and two-way datalinks.

Today, the AIM-120D-3 represents the pinnacle of the series, integrating advanced electronic counter-countermeasures to survive in jamming-intensive battlespaces.

Its versatility extends beyond fighters, serving as the interceptor for ground-based NASAMS batteries deployed in Ukraine and NATO Europe.

The missile has become a symbol of U.S. technological credibility, equipping both legacy fighters like the F-15 and fifth-generation assets like the F-35.

Its combat record, from the Balkans to the Middle East, demonstrates not only reliability but also adaptability to evolving threats.

Integration into allied fleets ensures interoperability across NATO and partner air forces, strengthening collective deterrence.

Its continuous evolution also underscores the U.S. strategy of incremental upgrades to maintain global missile supremacy without a full system redesign.

By remaining combat-relevant for over three decades, the AMRAAM exemplifies how legacy platforms can achieve new relevance in modern air warfare.

F3R Upgrades: Unlocking Hidden Potential

The F3R initiative breathes new life into the AIM-120 by modernizing electronics, upgrading batteries, and refining aerodynamic performance.

These enhancements optimize flight trajectories, allowing the missile to retain energy further into its flight path and engage targets at ranges once thought unattainable.

Critically, the upgrades do not require additional pilot training, allowing seamless integration across frontline squadrons.

By extracting maximum performance from existing propulsion and guidance systems, the AMRAAM now bridges the gap toward the forthcoming AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM).

The F3R effectively extends the service life of the AMRAAM fleet, ensuring readiness against emerging electronic warfare environments.

These upgrades are crucial as adversaries increasingly deploy digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) jammers to blind incoming missiles.

The modernization also reduces logistical complexity by ensuring compatibility across multiple variants and launch platforms.

It offers a cost-effective way to enhance lethality without waiting for the full-scale fielding of JATM.

This evolutionary approach ensures the missile remains credible against peer adversaries while easing transition to next-generation systems.

By bridging the technological gap, F3R gives the U.S. and allies time to expand production capacity for new missile systems.

Strategic Impact: Restoring the Edge in a Contested Sky

The breakthrough comes as China and Russia deploy ultra-long-range AAMs designed to threaten high-value airborne assets such as AWACS and aerial tankers.

The PL-15, with its 200–300 km reach, and Russia’s R-37M, credited with downing Ukrainian fighters at 300 km, have raised serious concerns in U.S. and NATO planning circles.

The extended-range AMRAAM provides a counterbalance, allowing American and allied fighters to close the engagement gap and sustain a credible deterrent posture in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

Equally significant is its role as a “capacity weapon,” offering high-volume affordability compared to next-generation boutique missiles like the AIM-260 or air-launched SM-6 derivatives.

This ensures that the U.S. can field both quantity and quality, saturating the battlespace while maintaining escalation dominance.

The record shot also strengthens U.S. integrated deterrence doctrine, signaling to adversaries that high-value assets are no longer as vulnerable as previously assessed.

By combining range, volume, and survivability, the AMRAAM strengthens the credibility of U.S. airpower across two theatres simultaneously.

It reassures allies in NATO and Asia-Pacific that the U.S. retains both the capability and the will to sustain extended-range air dominance.

The achievement also complicates adversary calculus, forcing China and Russia to invest further in counter-countermeasures.

In effect, the AMRAAM’s renewed performance buys valuable time for the AIM-260 and future sixth-generation missile programs to mature.

The Future of Air-to-Air Warfare

The AMRAAM program continues to expand, with production scaled to over 1,200 units annually and obsolescence mitigation secured through a $760 million modernization contract.

Next-generation programs will deliver the AIM-260 JATM and potentially hypersonic air-to-air missiles by the 2040s, with projected ranges exceeding 1,000 km.

Yet, the record-breaking shot proves that incremental innovation can be just as decisive as revolutionary breakthroughs.

For the F-22, this achievement cements its reputation as a platform that not only defined fifth-generation air combat but continues to evolve at the cutting edge of global aerospace rivalry.

As great-power competition intensifies, the Raptor and AMRAAM pairing remains a symbol of U.S. technological supremacy and strategic resolve to dominate contested airspaces.

Future warfare concepts increasingly envision AI-driven targeting, cooperative swarming, and integration with space-based assets to extend kill chains beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

The lessons learned from AMRAAM upgrades will shape how future weapons balance cost, range, and survivability.

The F-22’s role as a testbed ensures that even legacy fighters can contribute meaningfully to future combat architectures.

With adversaries racing to field hypersonic AAMs, the U.S. is signaling it will not cede the initiative.

This record-setting engagement demonstrates that America’s air combat edge remains alive, adaptive, and ready for tomorrow’s conflicts. — DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA