Unknown but somewhere between the AIM-9X and AIM-120C
Diameter (m)
Unknown but somewhere between the AIM-9X and AIM-120C
Weight (kg)
circa 68
Range (nm)
60
Target Altitude / Depth (ft)
30ft AGL - 80000ft
Target Speed (kts)
1950 kts
Launch Altitude / Depth (ft)
200ft AGL - 65000ft
LaunchSpeed (kts)
Same as AIM-120C
Warhead
Likely to be similar to AIM-9X. Could be a hit-to-kill weapon
Targets
Aircraft, Helicopter, Missile
CEP (m)
N/A
Sensors
1 x Active Radar Homing Seeker (similar to the AMRAAM)
1 x IIR Seeker (similar to the AIM-9X-2 Blk III)
Potentially 1 x Anti-Radiation Seeker
Weapon Codes
Home On Jam (HOJ), Anti-Air All-Aspect, Anti-Air Dogfight (High Off-Boresight), Capable vs Seaskimmer, Lock-On After Launch (LOAL) - CEC-Capable, ARM Target Memory
Comments
I've classed it as hypothetical at the moment as info is still limited at this time. The entry to service date is would be circa mid-2020s for both the US armed forces and allies.
The compact size of the Peregrine missile allows aircraft like the fifth gen F-22A and the various F-35 models to carry double the amount of missiles when compared to the AMRAAM / Meteor and JATM loadouts. It's also useable by fourth gen aircraft. Mixed loadouts of AMRAAMs / Meteors / JATMs combined with the Peregrine should also be possible.
"Raytheon is developing a new medium-range small air-to-air missile that comes in at half the size of current equivalent weapons systems.
The company’s website bills the new Peregrine missile as ‘a small, fast, lightweight air-to-air weapon for use against drones, manned aircraft and cruise missiles’.
Raytheon says the smaller size makes the missile more manoeuvrable than legacy systems, with the weapon taking up less space on new fighter jets like the Lockheed Martin F-35.
Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president Dr Thomas Bussing said: “Peregrine will allow US and allied fighter pilots to carry more missiles into battle to maintain air dominance.
“With its advanced sensor, guidance and propulsion systems packed into a much smaller airframe, this new weapon represents a significant leap forward in air-to-air missile development.”
Raytheon says Peregrine uses off-the-shelf components and additive manufacturing to make the missile cheaper to build than current equivalents.
The company has not said whether the missile was designed for a specific military customer, however, the anti-drone capabilities suggest it expects this to be a requirement for future air-to-air missiles.
Raytheon has yet to say when the missile will be manufactured and tested. The company supplies the majority of air-to-air weapons for the US Air Force (USAF) and as such the company is likely to make the system available to the USAF in future.
The company said: “The system’s compact airframe doubles the weapons loadout on current aircraft, allowing US and allied fighter pilots to carry more missiles into battle to achieve air dominance.
“It can be easily integrated on today’s fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets and is compatible with current launch gear.”
The Peregrine weighs just over 150 lbs (68 kg) and is 6 ft in length (1.8 m). In comparison, the current AIM-9 Sidewinder weighs almost 20 kg more and is just over a metre longer than the new system.
Raytheon has otherwise offered limited details so far about its missile's exact capabilities and features. Mark Noyes, Raytheon Missile Systems Vice President of Business Development and Strategy, told Aviation Week that Peregrine will have a "multi-mode autonomous seeker" and a "new, high-performance propulsion section," but declined to offers specifics.
The guidance system is tri-mode, according to FlightGlobal, but Raytheon would not say what functionalities it has exactly. A combination of the radar homing capabilities of the AIM-120 with the imaging infrared seeker of the AIM-9X would be the most likely options. This would offer an alternative means of finding the target in the event of electronic warfare jamming during the terminal phase of the missile's flight. It similarly could rely on the radar seeker if the target's defensive countermeasures blinded or confused its infrared optics. The third method of operation could be a capability to actively home in on a target's electromagnetic emissions, such as those from its own radar. A data-link, which it will absolutely have, will only add to the missile's range and ability to more easily kill targets at closer ranges. You can read all about how a data-link and lock-on-after-launch capability enhances an air-to-air missile's capabilities dramatically in this previous piece of ours.
Given the very conventional cylindrical shape of the missile's body as seen so far in Raytheon's concept art and physical models, the Peregrine uses an advanced rocket motor for propulsion. It's also unclear what AMRAAM variant Raytheon is comparing Peregrine's range to, as the capabilities of the later AIM-120C, and especially the AIM-120D, are very different from those of the earlier AIM-120A and B variants. Publicly available estimates put the AIM-120D's maximum range at between 75 and 100 miles, which is also dependent on a wide variety of factors, including the state of the launch platform, such as its altitude and speed.
"It will be beyond-medium-range. I can’t go into specifics, as you can appreciate," Raytheon's Noyes told FlightGlobal. “But it can do everything from short-range to beyond-visual-range to beyond-medium-range."
A multi-pulse rocket motor using improved, high-grain propellant might be able to provide this kind of range performance in a smaller package
Advanced warhead technology, or possibly the elimination of the warhead entirely in favor of a hit-to-kill design that physically slams into its target to destroy it, could allow for more space to go to the propulsion system and its fuel, as well. Peregrine has a blast-fragmentation warhead, according to Aviation Week, but this conflicts with Raytheon's own concept art, which only shows two brown bands on the body. These denote the presence of low-order explosives and are typically indicators of a missile's rocket motor. A yellow band, for high explosives, generally shows the location of a warhead.
"It will go supersonic and that’s attributable to that new lightweight airframe and high-performance modular control system," Raytheon's Noyes told Aviation Week. "That permits it [to] go and do incredible maneuvers, especially at the endgame where it’s needed most," he continued, describing the kind of agility that would also be necessary for a hit-to-kill weapon."
TempestII
commented
1 year ago
DB Selector
DB3K
Baseline
No response
Hypothetical
Yes
Name
Peregrine missile
Length (m)
circa 1.8
Width/Span (m)
Unknown but somewhere between the AIM-9X and AIM-120C
Diameter (m)
Unknown but somewhere between the AIM-9X and AIM-120C
Weight (kg)
circa 68
Range (nm)
60
Target Altitude / Depth (ft)
30ft AGL - 80000ft
Target Speed (kts)
1950 kts
Launch Altitude / Depth (ft)
200ft AGL - 65000ft
LaunchSpeed (kts)
Same as AIM-120C
Warhead
Likely to be similar to AIM-9X. Could be a hit-to-kill weapon
Targets
Aircraft, Helicopter, Missile
CEP (m)
N/A
Sensors
1 x Active Radar Homing Seeker (similar to the AMRAAM) 1 x IIR Seeker (similar to the AIM-9X-2 Blk III) Potentially 1 x Anti-Radiation Seeker
Weapon Codes
Home On Jam (HOJ), Anti-Air All-Aspect, Anti-Air Dogfight (High Off-Boresight), Capable vs Seaskimmer, Lock-On After Launch (LOAL) - CEC-Capable, ARM Target Memory
Comments
I've classed it as hypothetical at the moment as info is still limited at this time. The entry to service date is would be circa mid-2020s for both the US armed forces and allies. The compact size of the Peregrine missile allows aircraft like the fifth gen F-22A and the various F-35 models to carry double the amount of missiles when compared to the AMRAAM / Meteor and JATM loadouts. It's also useable by fourth gen aircraft. Mixed loadouts of AMRAAMs / Meteors / JATMs combined with the Peregrine should also be possible.
"Raytheon is developing a new medium-range small air-to-air missile that comes in at half the size of current equivalent weapons systems.
The company’s website bills the new Peregrine missile as ‘a small, fast, lightweight air-to-air weapon for use against drones, manned aircraft and cruise missiles’.
Raytheon says the smaller size makes the missile more manoeuvrable than legacy systems, with the weapon taking up less space on new fighter jets like the Lockheed Martin F-35.
Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president Dr Thomas Bussing said: “Peregrine will allow US and allied fighter pilots to carry more missiles into battle to maintain air dominance.
“With its advanced sensor, guidance and propulsion systems packed into a much smaller airframe, this new weapon represents a significant leap forward in air-to-air missile development.”
Raytheon says Peregrine uses off-the-shelf components and additive manufacturing to make the missile cheaper to build than current equivalents.
The company has not said whether the missile was designed for a specific military customer, however, the anti-drone capabilities suggest it expects this to be a requirement for future air-to-air missiles.
Raytheon has yet to say when the missile will be manufactured and tested. The company supplies the majority of air-to-air weapons for the US Air Force (USAF) and as such the company is likely to make the system available to the USAF in future.
The company said: “The system’s compact airframe doubles the weapons loadout on current aircraft, allowing US and allied fighter pilots to carry more missiles into battle to achieve air dominance.
“It can be easily integrated on today’s fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets and is compatible with current launch gear.”
The Peregrine weighs just over 150 lbs (68 kg) and is 6 ft in length (1.8 m). In comparison, the current AIM-9 Sidewinder weighs almost 20 kg more and is just over a metre longer than the new system.
Raytheon has otherwise offered limited details so far about its missile's exact capabilities and features. Mark Noyes, Raytheon Missile Systems Vice President of Business Development and Strategy, told Aviation Week that Peregrine will have a "multi-mode autonomous seeker" and a "new, high-performance propulsion section," but declined to offers specifics.
The guidance system is tri-mode, according to FlightGlobal, but Raytheon would not say what functionalities it has exactly. A combination of the radar homing capabilities of the AIM-120 with the imaging infrared seeker of the AIM-9X would be the most likely options. This would offer an alternative means of finding the target in the event of electronic warfare jamming during the terminal phase of the missile's flight. It similarly could rely on the radar seeker if the target's defensive countermeasures blinded or confused its infrared optics. The third method of operation could be a capability to actively home in on a target's electromagnetic emissions, such as those from its own radar. A data-link, which it will absolutely have, will only add to the missile's range and ability to more easily kill targets at closer ranges. You can read all about how a data-link and lock-on-after-launch capability enhances an air-to-air missile's capabilities dramatically in this previous piece of ours.
Given the very conventional cylindrical shape of the missile's body as seen so far in Raytheon's concept art and physical models, the Peregrine uses an advanced rocket motor for propulsion. It's also unclear what AMRAAM variant Raytheon is comparing Peregrine's range to, as the capabilities of the later AIM-120C, and especially the AIM-120D, are very different from those of the earlier AIM-120A and B variants. Publicly available estimates put the AIM-120D's maximum range at between 75 and 100 miles, which is also dependent on a wide variety of factors, including the state of the launch platform, such as its altitude and speed.
"It will be beyond-medium-range. I can’t go into specifics, as you can appreciate," Raytheon's Noyes told FlightGlobal. “But it can do everything from short-range to beyond-visual-range to beyond-medium-range."
A multi-pulse rocket motor using improved, high-grain propellant might be able to provide this kind of range performance in a smaller package
Advanced warhead technology, or possibly the elimination of the warhead entirely in favor of a hit-to-kill design that physically slams into its target to destroy it, could allow for more space to go to the propulsion system and its fuel, as well. Peregrine has a blast-fragmentation warhead, according to Aviation Week, but this conflicts with Raytheon's own concept art, which only shows two brown bands on the body. These denote the presence of low-order explosives and are typically indicators of a missile's rocket motor. A yellow band, for high explosives, generally shows the location of a warhead.
"It will go supersonic and that’s attributable to that new lightweight airframe and high-performance modular control system," Raytheon's Noyes told Aviation Week. "That permits it [to] go and do incredible maneuvers, especially at the endgame where it’s needed most," he continued, describing the kind of agility that would also be necessary for a hit-to-kill weapon."
Sources
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29895/is-raytheons-pint-sized-peregrine-the-air-to-air-missile-the-pentagon-has-been-waiting-for
https://www.raytheonmissilesanddefense.com/what-we-do/air-warfare/air-to-air-missiles/peregrine-air-to-air-missile#:~:text=The%20Peregrine%E2%84%A2%20missile%20is,the%20missiles%20are%20low%20cost.
https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/raytheon-peregrine-missile/
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/09/raytheons-new-peregrine-missile-smaller-faster-more-maneuverable/