The U.S. Navy has begun exploring options for a new long-range anti-radiation missile that would not only home in on hostile radar emissions to dismantle enemy air defense networks, but also engage aerial targets — a capability that could transform how the service conducts suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and long-range air combat.
The proposed weapon, referred to as the Advanced Emission Suppression Missile (AESM), is being examined by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) through its Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO U&W). In a recent contracting notice, NAVAIR announced it is conducting market research to identify potential sources capable of delivering an advanced anti-radiation guided missile weapon system — or key subsystems — with greater range than current Navy inventory.
What sets AESM apart is a single, crucial requirement: it must be able to engage both air-to-ground and air-to-air targets.
That dual-role demand signals the Navy’s interest in fielding a missile that can suppress ground-based air defense radars while also targeting high-value airborne assets such as airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft — often referred to colloquially as “AWACS killers.”
At first glance, AESM’s requirements appear strikingly similar to those of the AGM-88G AARGM-ER (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range), the Navy’s next-generation evolution of the venerable AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM). The AARGM-ER incorporates hardware and software modifications designed to extend range, increase survivability, and improve effectiveness against modern and future threats.
AESM must offer:
- Extended standoff range
- Broad frequency coverage
- Advanced anti-radiation seeker technology
- Robust electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM)
- GPS/INS navigation with anti-jamming capability
- Compatibility with existing launch platforms
However, AESM goes further. Prospective bidders are explicitly required to “describe ability to engage air-to-air and air-to-ground targets.” That air-to-air mandate is the defining distinction.
Compatibility requirements include the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the EA-18G Growler, and the F-35 Lightning II. The notice also references compatibility with infrastructure supporting current anti-radiation missile inventory across both Navy and Air Force fleets.
The language leaves ambiguity as to whether AESM is envisioned as a supplement to, or eventual successor of, AARGM-ER — or potentially a further evolution of it.
The concept of a very-long-range anti-radiation missile capable of targeting airborne radar platforms dates back to the Cold War. The idea was straightforward: neutralize enemy airborne early warning aircraft to cripple battle management and situational awareness.
Aircraft such as the E-3 Sentry — the iconic U.S. Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) platform — function as flying radar nodes, detecting threats at long distances and coordinating fighter responses. Destroying or suppressing such aircraft dramatically reduces an adversary’s operational coherence.
AEW&C aircraft typically orbit far behind the front lines, often protected by layers of fighters and long-range surface-to-air missiles. Engaging them requires weapons with substantial reach, precision targeting, and resilience against electronic warfare.
An AESM-type missile could exploit the very emissions these aircraft rely upon. By homing in on radiofrequency output, such a weapon could attack high-value airborne targets without requiring continuous radar lock from the launching aircraft.
In addition to AEW&C planes, potential aerial targets could include electronic warfare aircraft, jamming platforms, and possibly even fighters emitting powerful radar signals.
The Navy and Air Force have explored hybrid anti-radiation and air-to-air missile concepts before.
In the mid-2000s, the services collaborated on the Joint Dual-Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM), intended to replace both the AGM-88 HARM and the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The project evolved into the Next Generation Missile (NGM) before being publicly terminated in 2013, reportedly due to cost concerns.
A more secretive effort, known as the Triple Target Terminator (T-3), reportedly continued development work, and by 2017 references surfaced to a Long Range Engagement Weapon (LREW). The status and scope of those initiatives remain unclear.
AESM may represent the most concrete revival yet of the dual-role missile concept — but with lessons learned from prior attempts.
The AESM notice emphasizes robust electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) capabilities to defeat enemy techniques including chaff, flares, jamming, and anti-ARM tactics.
Chaff and flares are commonly associated with airborne platforms, reinforcing the likelihood that AESM is envisioned to operate effectively in air combat environments.
Modern adversaries employ sophisticated anti-ARM strategies such as radar shutdown tactics, frequency hopping, decoys, and emission control procedures. AESM’s seeker would require broad frequency coverage and advanced processing to discriminate real targets from deception.
AARGM and AARGM-ER incorporate active millimeter-wave radar seekers to engage fleeing ground targets. A similar architecture, possibly augmented with active radar or imaging infrared guidance and networked datalink targeting, could enable AESM to prosecute airborne targets beyond visual range.
The renewed interest in long-range anti-radiation and air-to-air hybrid missiles comes amid growing focus on potential high-end conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has invested heavily in AEW&C aircraft and electronic warfare platforms to support its expanding air and naval power projection capabilities. Simultaneously, Beijing has pursued longer-range air-to-air missiles designed to threaten U.S. support aircraft operating from standoff distances.
U.S. AEW&C platforms, tankers, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft are critical enablers in Pacific operations. A conflict environment where both sides possess the ability to target high-value airborne nodes at extreme ranges fundamentally alters the risk calculus.
For the Navy, AESM could serve as a counterbalance — enabling carrier air wings to reach deeper into contested airspace and threaten adversary battle management aircraft.
AESM would join an evolving ecosystem of advanced air combat missiles.
In 2024, the Navy officially unveiled the AIM-174B, an air-launched variant of the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6). Designed to dramatically extend air-to-air engagement range from platforms like the Super Hornet, AIM-174B marked a significant expansion of naval aviation’s reach.
Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly, then director of the Air Warfare Division (N98), indicated in 2025 that increasing range and reach remains a central priority.
Meanwhile, the Navy and Air Force are jointly developing the AIM-260 JATM, intended as a longer-range successor to the AIM-120 AMRAAM.
Within this expanding arsenal, AESM would provide something distinct: a single missile capable of suppressing ground radars and engaging airborne emitters in one package.
One of AESM’s potential advantages lies in flexibility and magazine efficiency.
Modern stealth aircraft such as the F-35 rely on internal weapons carriage to preserve low observable characteristics. If AESM were designed with a form factor compatible with internal bays — similar to AARGM-ER’s slim profile — it could provide stealth platforms with both SEAD and long-range anti-air capability without sacrificing survivability.
Conversely, an externally carried variant could prioritize maximum range and speed.
Scalable missile concepts have been discussed in defense circles, wherein a core guidance and propulsion architecture can be adapted for different carriage modes or mission requirements. AESM could potentially follow such an approach.
There is also the possibility that AESM requirements could be satisfied through further evolution of AARGM-ER technology.
The U.S. Air Force is already acquiring a high-speed strike derivative known as the Stand-In Attack Weapon (SiAW). Northrop Grumman has proposed additional variants, including a surface-to-surface concept called the Advanced Reactive Strike Missile (AReS).
Whether AESM becomes a derivative of these programs or a clean-sheet design remains to be seen. The Navy’s current “market research” phase is intended to identify available solutions across industry.
The contracting notice also highlights potential exportability. Allied air forces facing similar anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) challenges — particularly in Europe and the Indo-Pacific — may see value in a dual-role anti-radiation and anti-air missile. International participation could help distribute development costs and accelerate production.
SEAD missions have traditionally focused on ground-based threats: surface-to-air missile batteries, radar sites, and command nodes.
AESM signals a possible doctrinal evolution — one that recognizes airborne sensors as equally critical components of modern integrated air defense systems.
In highly networked battle environments, radar nodes may reside on ships, trucks, or aircraft. A missile capable of autonomously homing in on hostile emissions across domains offers operational flexibility and rapid response.
Even in scenarios where adversary air defenses are partially degraded, an unexpected airborne emitter could appear mid-mission. A dual-role AESM would allow strike aircraft to adapt without requiring specialized loadouts.
Much remains unclear about AESM’s precise performance thresholds. The Navy has not specified a minimum range beyond requiring “significant standoff distances.” Nor has it detailed propulsion concepts, though high-speed or ramjet-based solutions could be contenders.
What is evident is that the Navy has initiated a renewed search for a weapon blending anti-radiation lethality with long-range air combat capability — effectively resurrecting the long-discussed “AWACS killer” concept within a modernized framework.
If realized, AESM could represent one of the most versatile missiles in U.S. naval aviation inventory — capable of dismantling ground-based radar networks, threatening high-value airborne nodes, and adapting dynamically within contested battlespaces.
As competition intensifies in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the ability to neutralize an adversary’s eyes and ears — whether mounted on towers, trucks, ships, or aircraft — may prove decisive.
