Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet Spotted Carrying New AIM-174B And AIM-260 Long-Range Missiles Together

A US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-31 was photographed over southern California carrying AIM-174B and AIM-260A long-range air-to-air missiles on the same aircraft. The October 14 sighting also showed an IRST21 infrared search-and-track pod, providing a rare view of the weapons in a test configuration. AIM-174B is an air-launched derivative of the Standard Missile-6 family, while AIM-260A is the newer Joint Advanced Tactical Missile intended to supplement existing air-to-air weapons. The images document captive carriage, not a firing test or confirmation that the combined loadout is operationally cleared.