The AIM-260A is a highly secretive joint service program that began official development in 2017. After nearly eight years, it has started creeping into the public eye.
The U.S. Navy is continuing flight tests of its next-generation air-to-air missile, the AIM-260A Joint Air Tactical Missile (JATM) in 2025 following successful testing of the missile with Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 31 in 2024, first seen in a VX-31 Facebook post by @AirPowerNEW1 on X. VX-31 posted its success in a now-deleted post showing an award given to the Developmental Test-9 Detachment Officer in Charge, LCDR Orion Flurett.
The image attached to the award does not show the JATM being fired, instead showing a released photo of Northrop Grumman’s AGM-88G AARGM-ER being launched, dating back to 2022. Despite that, the Facebook post was still taken down by VX-31 Public Affairs likely due to the post’s sensitive content:
“LCDR Flurett demonstrated extraordinary leadership and foresight, he planned, managed, and coordinated 78 personnel and two aircraft supporting the live-fire testing of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile.”
VX-31 Award Statement in a Facebook post dated February 5, 2025
Following the release of VX-31 public affairs statement referencing tests of the JATM, Naval News reached out to CHINFO to get clarification of the current testing regime for the AIM-260A. A U.S. Navy spokesperson familiar with the matter confirmed to Naval News that testing of the missile is still ongoing.
“The Navy is currently evaluating [the AIM-260A JATM] to assess its effectiveness and potential for future operational use.”
U.S. Navy Spokesperson
According to VX-31’s original post, JATM testing between July to August 2024 completed eight Category C tests over 28.3 total flight hours. The ‘Category C’ label is given to tests which pose a “a significant risk to personnel, equipment, or property even after all precautionary measures and corrective actions would be taken.” This includes, but is not limited to, stores separation for envelope definition or expansion, hazardous stores jettison tests, or missile gas ingestion engine tests.
Given the number of Category C tests conducted it is likely that multiple rounds of live-fire testing were completed during the test period. According to the post, all tests were conducted with approval of the Eglin Airfield Commander (AFM), implying that the tests were conducted in the Eglin Gulf Test Range, a range covering 120,000 square miles of overwater airspace and 724 square miles of land space in the southeastern United States.
Naval News was the first to cover the NAVSEA-released renderings of the AIM-260A earlier this month that were confirmed to be representative of the actual look of the new missile.
The JATM was slated for integration on the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor fleet first, ahead of the U.S. Navy’s Super Hornet fleet. It is not immediately clear if these tests involved the Super Hornet fleet, or if live-fire testing in the U.S. Navy is suggestive of further, secretive progress on the F-22. The U.S. Navy referred Naval News to the U.S. Air Force for further comments.
