Overview
- A framework deal announced Thursday between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin lays groundwork to ramp up production of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, also called JATM.
- Lockheed said it will support internal investments to expand manufacturing capacity while the Pentagon framed the pact as a step toward a future multiyear procurement and expanded foreign military sales.
- U.S. test officials say JATM development and flight testing are progressing and being accelerated, though performance details remain classified and operational timelines are unresolved.
- Australia is the first confirmed international customer and plans to integrate the missile on Super Hornets, F-35As and Growlers, but the announcement did not include quantities, costs or delivery schedules.
- The framework mirrors broader Pentagon efforts to signal long-term demand to the munitions industrial base as the U.S. seeks to match longer-range threats such as China’s PL-15 and advance other long-range air-to-air programs.