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We have talked before about a six-internal-AMRAAM configuration for the Joint Strike Fighter, but for the first time it has been graphically illustrated by the company, in a recently released promotional video: Notably, the missiles look as if they are vertically and horizontally staggered, the outer weapons slightly above and behind the inner missiles. It's a uniquely tight fit and will require an ingenious launcher design, particularly if it is to be compatible with the existing weapons bay, which only provides for a single weapon launcher. With the staggering (which keeps the wings and fins of each missile separate) the pair of 12-foot AIM-120s is about as long as a 152-inch JDAM. The video shows six AMRAAMs on an F-35B, despite its smaller weapon bays. There is still no firm timetable or budget for the upgrade. A brief to Norway in 2008 puts the capability in "notional" Block 5, which will now appear in 2020.Here's the entire Lockheed Martin video, and it is quite the classic of its genre, complete with a macho narrator who is apparently taking a break from Ford truck commercials:
Tags: ar99, tacair, jsf, amraam, afa10