The U.S. has new strike missiles, SiAW, giving them the capability to engage in conflict with Russia.
The U.S. Air Force has received the first unit of a new missile developed by the weapons manufacturer Northrop Grumman to fulfill a critical mission: to neutralize enemy air defenses, clearing the way for subsequent airstrikes. This capability is vital and could tip the scales in any future European conflict.
However, the new Stand-in Attack Weapon, or SiAW, has a challenge — and it lies in its name. SiAW is designed for relatively close-range attacks. Yet, in a conflict over Taiwan with China, Air Force fighters may face difficulties in closing the distance.
Northrop Grumman delivered the first SiAW missile in mid-November, just over a year after the Air Force awarded the Virginia-based company a contract. "The company continues to develop the weapon, conducting platform integration and completing flight testing for rapid prototype development and operational deployment by 2026," stated Northrop Grumman.
The 14-foot SiAW is an air-to-ground missile that, according to the manufacturer, "will provide strike capability against rapidly moving targets." Its design borrows heavily from the advanced Northrop Grumman AARGM anti-radiation missile, which is optimized for suppressing or destroying enemy air defense radars. The latest version of the AARGM, with an extended range, is reportedly capable of covering distances of up to 150 miles at speeds exceeding Mach 2.
The main differences between the AARGM and SiAW lie in their seekers and warheads. The AARGM is equipped with a seeker designed to detect transmissions from enemy radars, along with a fragmentation warhead ideal for destroying weaker radar systems and ground-to-air missile launchers. The SiAW is expected to feature a range of seekers and different warhead types, allowing it to target vehicles, command posts, and other objectives that may be better protected and less detectable in the electromagnetic spectrum than conventional air defense radars.
Both AARGM and SiAW are designed to be carried two at a time in the internal weapon bays of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter.
The concept behind SiAW is quite sound. By flying without external ordnance for maximum stealth, F-35s will penetrate the outermost layer of enemy defenses. While accompanying aircraft engage enemy radars with AARGM missiles, F-35s armed with SiAW will target the heavier parts of the defensive network — vehicles, buildings, and bunkers that can evade AARGM's fragmentation or lack the capability to transmit radar signals.
The issue with SiAW and other new American munitions lies in their range.
To clarify, the problem is not with the missile's flight range. After decades of rapid modernization, the People's Liberation Army of China has replaced many of its once-obsolete air defense systems with hundreds of the latest launchers capable of firing missiles up to 125 miles. F-35s firing AARGM and SiAW can destroy these launchers while staying out of their missile range.
No, the problem lies in the F-35's own flight range: 590 miles with internal weapons and fuel. There is only one major American airbase located close enough to Taiwan to send F-35s into combat over and around the island without needing to refuel the fighters in the air from large, slow, and vulnerable tankers.
However, this airbase, Kadena, is extremely vulnerable to Chinese attacks. The PLA has hundreds of missiles with sufficient range to strike Kadena from launch sites on the Chinese mainland. "Even a relatively small number of precision missiles could shut the base down for critical days at the onset of hostilities," reports the California-based RAND analytical center.
What good are a fleet of high-tech F-35s armed with cutting-edge SiAW missiles if the F-35s cannot get close enough to Chinese forces to launch their missiles?
Nevertheless, the combination of F-35 and SiAW could be devastating in an air campaign over Europe, where the distances between friendly and enemy forces are much smaller. F-35s flying against Russian troops could sweep away their air defenses, opening the skies for Western fighters to operate over the battlefield. We know what will happen in this scenario: it has happened within our memory with three different tank armies equipped with Soviet weaponry. The Iraqi army was destroyed twice, and the Libyan army once, with very minimal casualties among U.S. and allied ground forces. Putin's soldiers are faring no better.
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