【Epoch Times News, November 19, 2024】American defense technology company Northrop Grumman (Northrop Grumman) announced on Monday (November 18) that it has delivered the “Stand-in Attack Weapon” (SiAW) test missile to the US Air Force. SiAW will become an important component in the Air Force’s future arsenal.
SiAW will undergo testing by the US Air Force to verify that the launch aircraft can safely carry and deploy the weapon.
Northrop Grumman also announced this news on the social media platform X, along with a picture ready to deliver the SiAW test missile.
SiAW is a new type of air-to-ground weapon. According to budget request documents for the fiscal year 2025, SiAW can provide the ability to “strike targets that can be rapidly maneuvered and redeployed in the ‘anti-access/area denial’ (A2/AD) environment.” Potential targets for SiAW’s attacks include theater ballistic missile launchers, land and anti-ship cruise missile launchers, jammers, anti-satellite systems, and integrated air defense systems.
Anti-access/area denial typically refers to the strategic way China has strengthened its claims in the vast Pacific region in recent years. This strategy includes deploying advanced air defense systems, anti-ship weapons, anti-satellite measures, etc. China’s A2/AD approach is primarily designed around long-range anti-ship missiles aimed at deterring American aircraft carriers, such as the DF-ZF hypersonic missile.
According to the military news website “The War Zone,” SiAW is derived from the AGM-88G missile mainly used to penetrate enemy air defense systems. The development of SiAW aims to provide a broader and high-speed strike capability against time-sensitive ground targets, including missile launchers, air defense and missile defense sites, electronic warfare systems, and even anti-satellite weapons.
For years, the US Navy has been leading the active development of AGM-88G. The AGM-88G is also known as the “Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range” (AARGM-ER). The first live fire flight test of the AARGM-ER was conducted in 2021. The AGM-88G is also produced by Northrop Grumman.
In September 2023, Northrop Grumman received a $705 million contract for the second phase of SiAW development from the US Air Force to rapidly prototype missiles and is aiming to achieve the initial operational capability of this new missile by 2026.
Currently, specific information on the range, speed, and other capabilities of SiAW and AGM-88G remains limited. However, it is worth noting that Lockheed Martin earlier this year unveiled the “Mako” air-launched hypersonic missile, initially developed to compete with the SiAW project. It is still unclear whether this implies that SiAW and AGM-88G can also achieve hypersonic or near-hypersonic speeds, including terminal sprint.
Before Northrop Grumman secured the contract from the US Air Force in September last year, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris had both withdrawn from further developing the SiAW project.
AGM-88G includes a multi-mode guidance package, including a global positioning system-assisted inertial navigation system and a millimeter-wave radar. Even if the target stops emitting radio frequency or other signals or even begins to move, the millimeter-wave radar can still locate it. It is reported that the AGM-88G can also relay data at the last moment to confirm whether the intended target has been successfully hit.
Currently, it is not clear how SiAW differs from AGM-88G to provide an expanded capability to strike a broader range of targets, but official budget documents explicitly mention “improved warhead/fuze.”
The capabilities offered by SiAW can help the US military address potential high-end conflicts with China. The Chinese military has invested heavily in developing and deploying more advanced and longer-range air defense, anti-ship, and electronic warfare capabilities, aimed at challenging the historical US advantage in the space domain. The US military has various means to suppress and destroy these Chinese A2/AD capabilities and achieving this goal quickly and effectively on a wide front will be crucial for success in any major Pacific region battles in the future.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the US Air Force plans to equip its F-35A stealth fighters as the first aircraft to carry SiAW. The F-35A will also be able to carry these missiles internally in its weapon bays, allowing it to use this new capability in the most stealthy manner. The F-35A and F-35C are also capable of carrying the AGM-88G internally.
The US Air Force has been seeking to acquire the new generation B-21 Raider stealth bomber. The B-21 stealth bomber and various unmanned drones could also be potential launch platforms for SiAW.