AIM-424 Malice

A next-generation US Navy very-long-range air-to-air missile designed to bring engagements beyond 463 km to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-generation combat aircraft.

Overview

The AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile, named Malice, is a Raytheon-built US Navy weapon under test for very-long-range air combat. The Navy describes it as a solid-propellant missile with a blast-fragmentation warhead and a range exceeding 250 nautical miles (463 km), although its seeker, deployment schedule and detailed performance remain classified. Its intended carrier set includes the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-35C Lightning II and future F/A-XX, with the Navy describing compatibility more broadly across fourth-, fifth- and sixth-generation platforms.

Malice combines the reach associated with large weapons such as the AIM-174B with dimensions intended to permit internal carriage by a stealth fighter. An August 2026 fit test placed an instrumented AIM-424 inside an F-35C weapons bay, while an April 2026 captive-carry flight showed four training rounds beneath an F/A-18E. This gives the program a distinct role within the expanding US air-to-air inventory: it is larger and nominally much longer-ranged than the AIM-120 AMRAAM, while being more compatible with low-observable internal carriage than the externally carried AIM-174B. The requirement reflects US concern over Chinese long-range missiles, particularly the PL-15 and less transparent PL-16 and PL-17 programs.

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