An inert AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, the long-range air-to-air weapon Lockheed Martin builds for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, has been photographed under the wing of a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet. The picture was taken on Sept. 11, 2026, at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu, California, as the jet from No. 1 Squadron took off during a U.S. Navy test event.
The photo puts the missile on a foreign airframe in public view. Australia has said it will be the first country outside the United States to operate the AIM-260, also known as JATM, and the Super Hornet is the first Australian aircraft slated to carry it.
The Aviationist identified the missile in an Oct. 1, 2026 report by Stefano D’Urso, working from a U.S. Navy photo by Dana Rene White. The outlet’s caption describes the inert AIM-260 mounted on weapon station 7, a fuselage “cheek” station, with training versions of the AIM-9X and AIM-120 AMRAAM also on the aircraft.
Australia’s AIM-260 buy
The purchase was announced on Aug. 6, 2026. An Australian Defence ministerial media release dated that day states that Australia is investing almost $736 million to acquire the missile and will be the first country to operate the AIM-260 JATM outside the United States. The release says the weapon will be integrated first on the RAAF’s F/A-18F Super Hornet, and then on the F-35A Lightning II and the EA-18G Growler. It gives no delivery date.
The figure in that release is in Australian dollars. Airforce Technology’s Aug. 6, 2026 report on the announcement gives it as A$736 million, or about US$518 million. The release frames the buy within the government’s 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program, under which it cites up to A$36 billion over the next decade for guided weapons and explosive ordnance.
The Aviationist reports that the purchase is being made through the U.S. foreign military sales process.
A secretive missile goes public
The AIM-260 has been one of the least-discussed weapons in the U.S. inventory. The Aviationist’s account says development began before 2019 and flight testing started around 2020, with Lockheed Martin as the producer.
The program surfaced further in September. In a Sept. 17, 2026 release, Lockheed Martin announced a framework agreement with the Department of War to speed production and delivery of the AIM-260. The company described the missile as “capable of deterring and defeating current and projected enemy air threats,” said it offers greater range and effectiveness than existing air-to-air weapons, and listed it as compatible with the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. Those are Lockheed’s claims about the weapon; the company has not published range or performance figures.
The same release cited Australia’s investment to equip the RAAF with the missile. Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said, “We will deliver JATM at the speed our nation and allies demand while providing value for taxpayers and our shareholders.”
What the Point Mugu photo shows
The photo documents carriage of an inert round, not a firing. Nothing in the reporting or the Australian release describes a live AIM-260 shot by an RAAF aircraft. The aircraft was at Point Mugu for integration testing.
That event, Gray Flag 2026, is what Seapower Magazine describes as the naval aviation test community’s premier large-force test event, meant to expose integration problems before fleet deployment and run by Naval Test Wing Pacific and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 with Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. It ended on Sept. 25, 2026.
Wing Commander Trent Baldry, commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron, summed up the RAAF’s takeaway in remarks quoted by The Aviationist:
“We leave much more informed with respect to future capabilities that enable Australia to shape our requirements for future projects and future platform upgrades that increase our lethality and survivability.”
The next step on the record is integration. Per the Aug. 6 release, the Super Hornet comes first, followed by the F-35A and the EA-18G Growler, with no delivery date yet published.
Top image: A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet over Brisbane in 2019. Not the aircraft photographed with the AIM-260. Image Credit: Andrew Mercer — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Combat Rated editors prior to publication.