Lockheed reaches deal to boost production of secretive JATM missile

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II lands aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7), April 6, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached an initial agreement to ramp up production of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM), the secretive weapon set to succeed the AMRAAM.

The framework agreement sets the stage for future multi-year procurement (MYP) of JATM and boosting foreign military sales, the Pentagon stated in a news release. The announcement did not include information about the scale or timeline for the production ramp up, nor the dollar amount associated with the agreement.

In a news release today, Lockheed stated that the company “will support necessary investments to drive the production increase under this agreement.” However, the company did not provide further specifics about the level of internal investment it expects to provide under the deal.

The JATM deal is the latest in a series of framework agreements inked this year between the Pentagon and industry aimed at rapidly scaling up weapons production, with industry pledging to invest its own funds to modernize and build new facilities and the department promising stable, multiyear production deals.

Questions have swirled about when funding and final contracts for the framework agreements will ultimately appear. Lockheed previously nabbed framework deals for the Patriot’s PAC-3 and THAAD interceptors, which have since turned into undefinitized contract actions worth $59 billion and $35 billion respectively.

But final, definitized contracts for any of the dozen or so framework deals have proven elusive, with much of the Pentagon’s munitions spend tied up in its $350 billion reconciliation request, which has not been passed by Congress.

The Pentagon has held information about the classified JATM program under strict control, with the capability becoming public in 2019. In August, Australia announced plans to become the first international JATM customer.

In the age of drones, a bigger fence around your facility doesn’t protect you anymore

Traditional thinking about how to protect facilities must adapt to new threats such as drones or downstream attacks.

“Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to sending clear, long-term demand signals across the defense industrial base, ensuring our Warfighters receive unmatched capability exactly when and where the mission demands,” Michael Duffey, the department’s head of acquisition and sustainment, said in a news release today.

Lockheed said that the new missile “has increased range and effectiveness over existing air-to-air weapons” and will be integrated on Air Force and Navy fighters including the F-22 and F-35.

“This agreement builds on years of collaboration to deliver this critical air dominance capability to the warfighter,” said Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “We will deliver JATM at the speed our nation and allies demand while providing value for taxpayers and our shareholders.”

2026年4月6日，一架美国海军陆战队的F-35B“闪电II”战斗机降落在“的黎波里”号两栖攻击舰（LHA 7）上。（美国海军陆战队照片）

华盛顿——五角大楼和洛克希德·马丁公司已达成初步协议，将加大 AIM-260 联合先进战术导弹 (JATM) 的产量，这种秘密武器将取代 AMRAAM。

五角大楼在一份新闻稿中表示，该框架协议为未来多年采购联合自动导弹系统（JATM）以及促进对外军售奠定了基础。公告并未提及产能提升的规模或时间表，也未透露协议的具体金额。

洛克希德公司今天在一份新闻稿中表示，公司“将支持必要的投资，以推动协议项下的产量增长”。然而，该公司并未提供更多关于其预计将根据该协议提供的内部投资规模的具体细节。

JATM协议是今年五角大楼与业界签署的一系列框架协议中的最新一项，旨在迅速扩大武器生产规模。业界承诺投入自有资金对设施进行现代化改造和建设新设施，而国防部则承诺提供稳定的多年生产协议。

关于框架协议的资金和最终合同何时才能落实，一直存在诸多疑问。洛克希德·马丁公司此前已获得“爱国者”导弹系统PAC-3和“萨德”拦截器的框架协议，这些协议后来分别转化为价值590亿美元和350亿美元的未定合同。

但十几项框架协议的最终确定合同仍然难以达成，五角大楼的大部分军火支出都集中在其 3500 亿美元的预算协调请求中，而该请求尚未获得国会通过。

五角大楼对机密的JATM计划的信息一直严格控制，该能力于2019年公开。8月，澳大利亚宣布计划成为JATM的首个国际客户。

在无人机时代，在你的设施周围加装更高的围栏已经无法保护你了。

传统的设施保护思维必须适应无人机或下游攻击等新威胁。

“今天的公告反映了我们致力于向整个国防工业基础发出清晰、长期的需求信号，确保我们的作战人员在任务需要时能够随时随地获得无与伦比的能力，”国防部采购和保障部门负责人迈克尔·达菲在今天的新闻稿中表示。

洛克希德公司表示，新型导弹“比现有的空对空武器射程更远、效能更高”，并将集成到空军和海军的战斗机上，包括 F-22 和 F-35。

洛克希德·马丁导弹与火控公司总裁蒂姆·卡希尔表示：“这项协议建立在多年合作的基础上，旨在为作战人员提供这项至关重要的空中优势能力。我们将以国家和盟友要求的速度交付联合空中优势导弹系统（JATM），同时为纳税人和股东创造价值。”