Complementing the procurement of 35 F-35A Lightning II steath fighter jets, Germany seems to be also purchasing an armament package for the F-35 in very large quantities. This became known after the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) gave approval for the potential sale of 969 air-to-air missiles AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) worth US$2.9 billion.
The purchase of the AIM-120C-8 in fantastic numbers, approaching 1,000 units, has broken the record for purchases of missiles produced by Raytheon outside the US. Previously, the Netherlands and Sweden had also obtained approval for the purchase of the AMRAAM missile variant.
The sales package for 969 AIM-120C8 AMRAAM missiles to Germany will use the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) scheme, and includes support and logistics equipment.
The DSCA announcement was made after previously there was a request from Germany to purchase AMRAAM missiles. The DSCA did not provide a timeline for the deal, which still requires Berlin's acceptance. "The proposed sale will enhance Germany's ability to meet current and future threats by ensuring they have modern and capable air-to-air munitions," the DSCA said.
“This sale will further advance the German Air Force's level of interoperability with combined US and other NATO and regional forces. Germany already has the AMRAAM in its inventory and will have no difficulty absorbing the AIM-120C8 variant,” said DCSA in a press release.
The AIM-120C-8, also known as the AIM0-120D, is the most advanced variant of the AIM-120C family. It is said that the capabilities of the AIM-120C-8 have increased by 50 percent compared to the AIM-120C-7 (the AMRAAM variant purchased by Indonesia).
The AIM-120C-8 began trials in August 2008 and although the firing range was kept secret, it is strongly suspected that the AIM-120C-8 can chase targets as far as 160 km.
From the control side, the AIM-120C-8 adopts a two-way data link which ensures a better level of navigation accuracy with a combination of GPS and Inertial Navigation Systems. The HOBS (high off-boresight) capability is also enhanced, so that it will be difficult for opponents to escape pursuit (improved kill probability).
With a solid-fuel rocket motor, the AIM-120C-8 can accelerate up to Mach 4. The Australian Air Force is the first user of the AIM-120C-8 outside the US, 450 units of this missile have been ordered by Australia to complement the weapons systems on the F-35A Lightning II, F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler fighter jets.