澳大利亚皇家空军一架F/A-18F“超级大黄蜂”战斗机被拍到在美国海军于加利福尼亚州举行的一次大型试验活动中携带一枚惰性AIM-260联合先进战术导弹（JATM）。就在澳大利亚宣布将采购这种新型导弹数周后，这一进展浮出水面；澳大利亚的“超级大黄蜂”将成为澳空军首支配备该弹的飞机。
A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet has been photographed carrying an inert AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) during a major U.S. Navy test event in California. The development comes weeks after Australia announced that it would buy the new missile with its Super Hornets being the first RAAF aircraft to receive it.
这张照片由美国海军发布，画面显示，澳大利亚皇家空军一架隶属第1中队的F/A-18F于9月11日“灰旗-2026”演习期间，从文图拉县穆古角海军基地起飞。其挂载还包括一枚CATM-9X（AIM-9这不仅是外界首次在任何场景中看到澳大利亚JATM，该武器与澳大利亚“超级大黄蜂”机队的集成工作也已取得进展，并在美国举行的一次大型测试与集成演练中以惰性状态携带了这款导弹。
The photograph was released by the U.S. Navy and shows an RAAF F/A-18F assigned to No. 1 Squadron taking off from Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu on September 11 during Gray Flag 2026 The loadout also includes a CATM-9X — the inert training variant of the AIM-9X— and a CATM-120, the inert training version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM three external fuel tanks, an AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod, and a Tactical Combat Training System Gray Flag is the naval aviation test community’s flagship large-force test event, providing opportunities for large-scale integration of new capabilities across services, platforms, industry, and allied forces. Gray Flag 2026 was the largest edition of the exercise to date.
据8月份报道，澳大利亚将耗资约4.8亿美元，通过美国对外军售项目采购AIM-260，并成为美国以外首个操作这款导弹的国家。澳大利亚政府当时表示，该导弹将首先集成到澳大利亚皇家空军的F/A-18F机队上，随后再装备于F-35A和EA-18G“咆哮者”预警机。展望更远，澳大利亚皇家空军的MQ-28“幽灵蝙蝠”协同作战飞机（CCA）也可能成为JATM的集成候选机型。
According to the Navy, more than 3,000 personnel from over 150 organizations participated, flying more than 750 sorties and logging over 2,000 flight hours across hundreds of multi-domain test objectives. Previous iterations of Gray Flag have been used to test new and still-developmental weapons in increasingly complex, operationally representative scenarios, including actual missile engagements against realistic targets. Making use of the sprawling Point Mugu Sea Range, the event has also become an important opportunity for working out how sensors, weapons, aircraft, and networks interact as part of larger kill chains kill webs A new, longer-range air-to-air missile is especially relevant when it comes to developing tactics, techniques, and procedures within a broader, networked air-combat architecture.
澳大利亚没有公布交付时间表，也未说明JATM何时将进入澳大利亚军队服役。
Beyond being the first apparent glimpse of an Australian JATM in any context, integration of the weapon onto Australia’s Super Hornet fleet has already progressed to the point of carrying the missile — in inert form — during a major U.S.-based test and integration exercise.
今年5月，一枚AIM-260出现在美国海军一架F/A-18F上，首次公开披露了这款导弹的整体尺寸比例和外形结构。该机由第31空中测试与评估中队（VX-31）操作，并提供了外界首次见诸公开报道的这款高度机密导弹的照片。
reported in August, Australia is set to become the first country outside the United States to operate the AIM-260 following a roughly $480-million procurement through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. The Australian government said at the time that the missile would first be integrated onto the RAAF’s F/A-18F fleet, before being fielded on the F-35A EA-18G Growler Looking further ahead, the RAAF’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) could also emerge as a candidate for integration with JATM.
AIM-260的具体规格仍属机密。该导弹旨在提供远大于AIM-120“先进中程空对空导弹”的射程，同时保持大致相似的外形尺寸。其紧凑设计十分重要，因为该导弹不仅能够由战机外挂，还能够由F-22和F-35等飞机内置携带。
Australia’s announcement did not provide a delivery schedule or specify when JATM would enter Australian service. The overall proportions and external configuration of the AIM-260 were revealed when an example appeared on a U.S. Navy F/A-18F in May of this year That aircraft, operated by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 (VX-31), provided the first publicly known photographic view of the highly classified missile. The AIM-260’s exact specifications remain classified.
这款武器的开发是为了应对中国PL-15导弹及其他先进导弹所带来的、射程日益增加的空对空威胁。官方尚未公布射程数据，但此前的报道称，其目标射程至少为120英里，甚至可能远大于此。
It is intended to provide substantially greater range than the AIM-120 AMRAAM while retaining a broadly similar form factor. That compact configuration is important because the missile is designed not only for external carriage but also for internal carriage by aircraft such as the F-22 and F-35.
因此，澳大利亚的采购标志着JATM项目的重要扩展，使其正式延伸至美国机队之外。
The weapon has been developed as a response to the increasingly long-range air-to-air threat posed by China’s PL-15 and other advanced missiles Official range figures have not been released, although previous reporting has pointed to an intended range of at least 120 miles and potentially considerably more.
“穆古角”照片的拍摄时间尤其值得关注。“灰旗”演习旨在将大量飞机、武器、传感器、网络及其他系统集中起来，开展要求极高的系统集成和测试活动。澳大利亚“超级大黄蜂”战斗机若在此类演习中携带联合空空弹药（JATM），完全符合本次演习的宗旨。
The Australian procurement therefore represents an important expansion of the JATM program beyond the U.S. fleet. The timing of the Point Mugu photograph is particularly interesting. Gray Flag is specifically intended to bring together large numbers of aircraft, weapons, sensors, networks, and other systems for demanding integration and test activities.
不过，这枚导弹当时发挥何种作用尚不清楚。照片无法确定它究竟是澳大利亚拥有、可用于作战的武器，还是美国的测试装备，抑或是为某项特定集成活动而使用的导弹。导弹弹体上的蓝色环带证实，这是一枚装有惰性火箭发动机和/或惰性战斗部的训练弹。
An Australian Super Hornet carrying JATM at such an event would be entirely in line with the purpose of the exercise. It is not clear, however, what role the missile was playing. The photograph does not establish whether it was an Australian-owned operational weapon, a U.S. test asset, or a missile being used for a particular integration activity.
有公开证据显示，澳大利亚飞机曾携带AIM-260，这是该武器从受到严格保密的美国研发项目向盟军列装过渡的又一个重要里程碑。
Blue bands on the missile body confirm that it’s a training missile with inert rocket motor and/or warhead.
这也凸显了澳大利亚采购该武器在互操作性方面的重要意义。在澳大利亚皇家空军与美国军队日益有望在印太地区协同行动的背景下，堪培拉正斥资参与美国远程空空武器项目。
Public evidence of an Australian aircraft carrying the AIM-260 is another important milestone in the weapon’s transition from a closely guarded U.S. development program toward allied service. It also underscores the most interoperability aspect of the Australian acquisition.
本次演习也恰逢美国加快AIM-260的研制及未来生产。今年9月，五角大楼与洛克希德·马丁达成一项框架协议，为未来多年期采购合同奠定基础；美国空军试验中心也证实，该导弹目前正在进行地面和空中测试。这项协议旨在向洛克希德·马丁及其供应商发出扩大产能所需的需求信号，但导弹数量、成本和交付时间表仍未公布。
Canberra is buying into a U.S. long-range air-to-air weapon program at a time when the Royal Australian Air Force and U.S. forces are increasingly expected to operate together across the Indo-Pacific. The exercise also comes as the U.S. moves to accelerate development and future production of the AIM-260. In September, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin reached a framework agreement laying the groundwork for a future multiyear procurement deal, while the Air Force Test Center confirmed that the missile is already undergoing both ground and airborne testing.
这项研发工作还应置于美澳两国在空射武器领域更广泛合作的背景下来看。澳大利亚皇家空军的F/A-18F战斗机也正被纳入美澳联合开展的“南十字综合飞行研究实验”（SCIFiRE）高超音速攻击巡航导弹（HACM）项目，澳大利亚将为该武器的飞行测试计划提供试验基础设施。您可以在此处了解该项目的相关信息。澳大利亚表示，其F/A-18F将成为澳大利亚皇家空军首批装备JATM的飞机，而在一场重要的美国海军测试活动中，澳大利亚一架“超级大黄蜂”已经被拍到挂载JATM导弹。
The agreement is intended to give Lockheed Martin and its suppliers the demand signal needed to expand production capacity, although the number of missiles, costs and delivery schedule remain undisclosed. The development should also be seen in the context of broader U.S.-Australian cooperation on air-launched weapons. RAAF F/A-18Fs are also being integrated into the U.S.-Australian Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) effort under the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), with Australia providing test infrastructure for the weapon’s flight-test program. You canabout this program here Australia said its F/A-18Fs would be the first RAAF aircraft to receive JATM, and an Australian Super Hornet has now been photographed carrying one during a major U.S. Navy test event.
因此，对澳大利亚皇家空军而言，让JATM装备其一线战斗机已成为一项愈发紧迫的需求，从而使“超级大黄蜂”具备可信的远程反制能力，以应对未来高强度对抗中可能遭遇的武器。
For the RAAF, getting JATM onto its frontline fighters is consequently an increasingly urgent requirement, giving its Super Hornets a credible long-range counter to the weapons they could face in a future high-end fight.
澳大利亚“超级大黄蜂”战机挂载AIM-260 JATM导弹的照片曝光
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