A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter aircraft fired the newest variant of Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile May 22 as part of developmental testing.

The AIM-120D AMRAAM passed well within lethal range of the QF-4 target drone. The missile destroyed the target and met all primary test objectives.

"This test is another important milestone on the road to putting the AIM-120D in the hands of the U.S. warfighter," said Col. Scott Rumph, commander of the U.S. Air Force's 328th Armament Systems Group.

"The AIM-120D will enable our men and women in uniform to maintain air superiority, regardless of the threat."

The AIM-120D builds on the combat-proven AMRAAM family of missiles. It offers improved capabilities compared with its predecessor, the AIM-120C7.

"AIM-120D's advanced features offer U.S. aviators a critical advantage in the beyond-visual-range fight," said Jim Knox, Raytheon Missile Systems' AMRAAM program director.

"There is no missile in development or in any air force's inventory that can even come close to matching what the AIM-120D can do."

The AMRAAM family of missiles has been in production for more than 20 years. It is operational with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and 33 international customers. More than 16,000 AMRAAMs have been produced. The missile is responsible for nine successful combat intercepts.