The US Air Force has produced a handy guide for tracking the next generation of missile programmes, with a few very interesting surprises apparently tossed in to the mix. Included is a replacement for the AIM-9X Sidewinder ("small advanced capabilities missile"), which is envisioned to intercept both incoming missiles as well as other aircraft. There's also the "next generation missile", which appears to be the new term of choice for the dual-role air dominance missile -- a single weapon for internal carriage in the F-35 and F-22 to replace the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AGM-88 HARM. And, most interestingly, there's a timeline to integrate the first high-energy laser on a fighter, which is somewhere between mid to far term.
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