A Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft touches down at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. (Australia DoD)
MELBOURNE — Australia will be the first export customer for the American-made beyond-visual-range air-to-air AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM).
Defense Minister Richard Marles announced during a visit to a multinational air combat exercise in northern Australia that the country will invest “almost” $736 million AUD ($518 million USD) to buy “up to 450” missiles for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The Department of Defence said, “The acquisition of the AIM-260 JATM will provide Air Force platforms with a credible deterrent against airborne targets, complementing existing air-to-air missile capabilities and other surface-based missile capabilities across the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It will also further enhance Australia’s interoperability with the United States.”
The Lockheed Martin-made missile is a closely held weapon for the US, only having been publicly photographed for the first time in May, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. Australia had been cleared by the State Department to buy the JATM in March — though the price tag for all the missiles, plus several test articles and associated equipment, should Australia pursue the full purchase, was at the time estimated to come to over $3 billion USD.
