Lawmakers: Secret JATM Missile Not Delayed by Shutdown After All

The ongoing government shutdown has not slowed progress on the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a congressional official said, correcting an earlier statement from lawmakers about the program.

Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee distributed a list of national security programs affected by shutdown, including “a three-month delay in deploying the Air Force Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) program.”  

But a week after Air & Space Forces Magazine reported the issue, a HASC spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the previous statement was inaccurate, the result of a miscommunication between the Air Force, the Pentagon, and Congress. 

Citing information from the Air Force, the spokesperson said that in advance of the shutdown, the JATM program office projected a potential three-month delay to a test event “if the shutdown were to occur and the team was unable to get the necessary support for the event.” 

The Pentagon was able to mitigate the delay, however, and “conduct the prioritized activities”—presumably the test event—the spokesperson said. As a result, there have been no delays to the program. 

The miscommunication underscores just how little public information there is about JATM, a Lockheed Martin missile intended to succeed the AIM-120 AMRAAM as the Air Force and Navy’s primary radar-guided air-to-air missile. The secretive JATM reportedly doubles the AMRAAM’s range, yet fits on existing missile rails and inside fifth-generation fighters’ internal weapons bays. 

The weapon has been in development since 2018, and initial public disclosures suggested it would be operational in 2022-2023. Earlier this year, a top service official told Air & Space Forces Magazine that JATM is not yet operational, citing issues with “integration,” presumably integrating the weapon system with USAF’s fifth-generation fighters, the F-22 and F-35. Another official disputed those comments, however, saying the program is “progressing well,” despite missing its intended IOC date. The missile has been in test since 2020; the first platform expected to employ it will be the F-22.