The AIM-424 Malice is an American long range air-to-air missile designed to engage hostile aircraft at distances far beyond those normally associated with conventional beyond-visual-range weapons. Developed for the U.S. Navy by Raytheon, an RTX business, the missile is intended to extend the engagement reach of carrier-based and future combat aircraft against fighters, airborne early-warning aircraft, tankers, electronic-warfare platforms and other high-value aerial targets.
Country users: United States
Technical Data
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Design
The AIM-424 Malice uses a large cylindrical missile body measuring approximately 4.11 m in length, with a 0.34 m body diameter and a published 0.67 m wingspan. Its relatively narrow aerodynamic surfaces distinguish it from larger air-launched derivatives such as the AIM-174B and appear specifically suited to integration with low-observable aircraft. The missile weighs approximately 680.4 kg, making it substantially heavier than an AIM-120-class weapon and indicating the use of a large internal propulsion volume optimized for high-energy flight over very long distances. Public imagery shows a streamlined forward body, limited-span aerodynamic surfaces and aft control surfaces arranged to minimize drag while preserving terminal maneuverability. The missile's ability to fit inside the internal weapons bay of an F-35C is a particularly important design feature because it allows future stealth aircraft to employ an extreme-range air-to-air weapon without necessarily sacrificing low-observable carriage.
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Warhead
The AIM-424 Malice carries a blast-fragmentation warhead, as the U.S. Navy confirmed, designed to destroy or critically damage airborne targets through a combination of explosive overpressure and high-velocity fragmentation. The precise explosive filling, warhead mass, fragment geometry, lethal radius, and fuze mechanism have not been publicly disclosed. In operational terms, a blast-fragmentation design suits long-range air combat because the missile does not require direct physical impact to achieve a kill; instead, detonation near the target can distribute fragments across critical aircraft structures, engines, fuel systems, flight-control components, radar equipment, and mission electronics. The type of proximity fuze or terminal target-detection system used by the missile remains classified or otherwise undisclosed.
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Propulsion
The AIM-424 Malice is officially described by the U.S. Navy as using a solid-propellant rocket motor, while specialist reporting has indicated that the missile may incorporate a two-stage or multi-stage propulsion arrangement intended to maintain sufficient velocity and energy throughout an engagement extending beyond 250 nautical miles. The U.S. Navy has not publicly confirmed the exact staging architecture, burn sequence, propellant composition, or thrust characteristics. A multi-stage or multi-pulse propulsion solution would be technically consistent with the missile's mission because it would permit strong initial acceleration followed by sustained or renewed propulsion during the mid-course or terminal portion of flight, helping preserve maneuverability and closing velocity at extreme range. The Navy's published range figure of more than 250 nautical miles, equivalent to over 463 km, should be interpreted as the officially acknowledged threshold rather than the missile's absolute maximum kinematic range.
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Guidance Systems
The AIM-424 Malice uses a guidance architecture whose exact seeker type, operating frequency, datalink configuration, and terminal-homing method the U.S. Navy and Raytheon have not publicly disclosed. A missile intended to engage targets beyond 463 km would require sophisticated inertial navigation, mid-course target updates, and integration with external sensor networks before transitioning to autonomous terminal guidance. The weapon is therefore expected to operate as part of a networked combat architecture in which targeting information could potentially be supplied or updated by the launch aircraft, airborne early-warning platforms, surface combatants or other joint sensors. An active radar seeker is technically plausible given Raytheon's extensive experience with radar-guided air-to-air missiles, but this has not been officially confirmed. The missile's integration across fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation aircraft also suggests that digital interfaces, secure datalinks, and network-enabled targeting are likely central to its operational concept.
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Combat Use
The AIM-424 Malice has no publicly confirmed combat employment as of 23 August 2026 and remains associated with development, aircraft-integration and flight-test activities. Publicly documented platforms include the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the F-35C Lightning II, while future integration has been associated with the Navy's planned F/A-XX next-generation carrier fighter and potentially other U.S. joint combat aircraft. In operational service, the AIM-424 is expected to provide a very-long-range interception capability against enemy fighters, airborne early-warning aircraft, aerial refueling tankers, surveillance aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft and other high-value airborne systems. Its extended reach would also allow carrier air wings to engage hostile strike and missile-carrier aircraft before those platforms can approach effective anti-ship weapon launch distances, creating an additional defensive layer around carrier strike groups and other naval forces.
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