F-35’s New Secret Weapon: SiAW Missile Ready for Testing

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Key Points: Northrop Grumman recently delivered the U.S. Air Force’s Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) for testing, designed for internal carriage on F-35A fighters.

-Derived from the Navy’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER), the SiAW combines radar-hunting capabilities with enhanced versatility.

-It integrates an anti-radiation seeker, GPS-assisted inertial guidance, and a millimeter-wave radar seeker, allowing it to engage stationary and moving targets, including air defenses and vehicles. With a two-way data link, the missile can receive real-time updates mid-flight, enhancing its adaptability.

-Expected to enter service by 2026, the SiAW will offer a range between 96-120 miles, advancing precision strike capabilities.

Meet SiAW: The Air Force’s New Multi-Target Missile for the F-35A

Last month, Northrop Grumman announced the delivery of the Air Force’s newest air-to-ground missile, known as the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW), for testing. This first test article will be used to ensure the weapon can be carried internally by the Air Force’s F-35As.

The eventual goal is to provide pilots with a single broadly capable air-to-ground missile that can engage nearly any kind of target on the surface of the earth.

The new SiAW missile is being built upon the basic structure of the Navy-led Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) program, which is a long-range radar hunting missile developed for the carrier-based F-35C.

The AARGM-ER is the latest in the AGM-88 line of high-speed anti-radiation missiles, which have long boasted anti-radiation seekers that can hone in on the broadcasting electromagnetic radiation (radar waves) coming from adversary air defense systems.

The AARGM-ER takes this role to the next level, however, thanks to the inclusion of a GPS-assisted inertial guidance system that allows it to continue closing with the last known coordinates of the radar broadcast (in the event the array is powered down) and a millimeter-wave radar seeker that enables it to chase down moving targets, in case the targeted air defense system is attempting to flee the area.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Kristin Wolfe performs a demonstration in the F-35A Lightning II during at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nevada, September 19, 2021. The F-35 Lightning II Demonstration Team is based out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nicolas Myers)

And while the AARGM-ER is a purpose-built radar-killer, the Air Force envisions using its new Stand-in Attack Weapon, which shares guidance systems and overall dimensions with the Navy missile, for a much wider variety of targets. In fact, the combination of anti-radiation seeker, GPS-assisted inertial guidance, and onboard radar seeker means the SiAW could be an effective weapon not just for the suppression of enemy air defenses, but for just about any stationary or moving target on the surface.

If target information changes while the missile is already in flight, a two-way data link allows the launching aircraft (or other nearby assets) to update the weapon with new target coordinates on the spot.

Because of its advanced guidance system, the weapon can even be launched toward a set area more or less “blind,” which means towards a general designated area. As it flies, it can receive new target information from offboard sensors identifying a target and then close with it on land or sea.

Its overall range – and that of the AARGM-ER – remains undisclosed, but previous claims have suggested that it will offer an increase in range from 20 to even 50 percent over the AGM-88E that’s in service.

This would give the SiAW and its AARGM-ER sibling a range of somewhere between 96 and 120 miles.

The Air Force aims to have the SiAW in service sometime in 2026.