The AIM-9 family of air-to-air missiles has protected U.S. fighter aircraft for over 40 years, but now there are more modern foreign missiles that may present a threat to U.S. aircraft. The U.S. Navy and Air Force considered buying a foreign missile but determined that the best solution to meet U.S. requirements was to extensively upgrade the current AIM-9M missile. The services selected Hughes Missile Systems Company (now the Raytheon Corporation) to develop and produce a very maneuverable missile that, together with a new helmet-mounted cueing system, is expected to be the best in the world. The AIM-9 Sidewinder family of air-to-air missiles is carried on all tactical fighter aircraft and is used at short ranges when target aircraft are too close for radar-guided missiles to be effective. The Sidewinder was first deployed in the 1950s—as the AIM-9B. Over the years, improvements were made as new models were introduced. The missiles have been sold to many friendly countries. The current missile, the AIM-9M, evolved in 1978. U.S. fighter aircraft equipped with the AIM-9M missile, however, are facing modern foreign-built missiles and advanced cueing/targeting systems. The rules of engagement for U.S. pilots require that, in many situations, they make a positive identification before firing on an adversary. This results in the pilot’s not being able to fire until the target aircraft is well within visual range. At combat speeds such an encounter can quickly evolve into a close-in fight, during which a short-range missile is required. A joint Navy and Air Force study predicts that a significant percentage of air-to-air encounters will result in a close-in flight. In April 1996, the Air Force Chief of Staff testified that U.S. pilots have the fourth best short-range missile in the world. Modern short-range missile systems with their cueing/targeting systems can engage targets throughout the forward hemisphere of the aircraft, providing a decisive advantage in a close-in fight. The services are trying to develop tactics and countermeasures to neutralize these threats, but there is general agreement that a more capable U.S. short-range missile system is needed as soon as possible. In the 1970s, the United States and several European countries signed a Memorandum of Agreement that specified that the Europeans would develop a new short-range missile to replace the AIM-9 Sidewinder series. That missile became the Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM). In the late 1980s, however, the European consortium dissolved. When the consortium dissolved, the Navy and the Air Force reexamined U.S. requirements and determined that the ASRAAM did not have the capability they required. The United States subsequently left the ASRAAM program. The two services then worked on separate upgrades to the AIM-9M. After false starts with their separate programs, a joint Navy and Air Force program with the Navy as lead service was started to extensively upgrade the AIM-9M. The upgraded missile is the AIM-9X. As a part of the alternative evaluation process before starting the AIM-9X program, the services considered acquiring one of the modern foreign missiles such as the Russian AA-11, the Israeli PYTHON 4, or the British ASRAAM as an alternative to developing a new U.S. missile. DOD determined, however, that none of these missiles was able to meet all of the U.S. requirements. The services conducted an evaluation of the ASRAAM, including a 6-month Foreign Comparison Test that included firing the missile from a U.S. F-16 aircraft. The ASRAAM is electrically and physically compatible with U.S. aircraft and uses the same infrared sensor as the AIM-9X. The evaluation, however, showed that ASRAAM does not meet all of the U. S. performance requirements. Also, the evaluation showed that, because of the additional time and cost that would be needed to upgrade, test, and integrate ASRAAM for U.S. aircraft, it offered no advantage over the proposed AIM-9X missile. During the 2-year AIM-9X concept development phase, the services analyzed user needs, current and future threats, and available technology to determine the requirements for the new missile. The resulting AIM-9X system requirement has five key performance parameters: the ability to operate during the day or at night; the ability to operate over land and at sea in the presence of infrared countermeasures; weight, size, and electrical compatibility with all current U.S. fighters and the F-22; the ability to acquire, track, and fire on targets over a wider area than the AIM-9M; and a high probability that a missile launched will reach and kill its target. The analyses showed that user requirements could be met and that technical risk could be reduced, by modifying the existing AIM-9M and developing a new targeting/cueing system. The AIM-9X missile is planned to have increased resistance to countermeasures and improved target acquisition capability over the AIM-9M. It will have a new infrared seeker, a tracker to interpret what the seeker sees, a streamlined missile body, and rocket motor thrust vectoring for improved maneuvering. It will be carried on all U.S. fighter aircraft, including the F/A-18, F-15, F-16, and F-22. An 18-month AIM-9X competitive demonstration and validation program began in 1994 with the Hughes Missile Systems Company and the Raytheon Corporation as the competing contractors. Both companies demonstrated, among other things, how they would reduce the technical risk of developing the AIM-9X missile. Examples of demonstration and validation work include trade studies, simulating missile performance, analyzing missile compatibility with Navy and Air Force aircraft, and flight testing target-tracking capability. Additionally, the contractors were required to plan for manufacturing the missile, including identifying new or unique processes and special tooling and facilities requirements. Hughes was selected as the AIM-9X missile contractor in December 1996. Hughes has total performance responsibility, including development, production, and maintenance support for the missile. Engineering and manufacturing development began in January 1997 and is planned to end in 2001. The services plan to buy a total of 10,000 missiles at an average unit cost of $264,000 (then-year dollars). The AIM-9X missile is shown in figure 1.1. A separate, parallel program is developing a helmet-mounted cueing system that would allow U.S. pilots to aim the AIM-9X missile seeker toward a target aircraft by turning their heads and looking at the target. The pilot can then fire the missile without having to turn the aircraft toward the target, increasing the probability of killing a hostile aircraft before it can launch a missile. Another effort is developing the necessary hardware and software modifications to integrate the missile and helmet into the aircraft. All three elements of the AIM-9X weapon system—the missile, helmet, and aircraft modifications—are seen as critical to countering the capabilities of modern threat missiles. The Chairman, Subcommittee on Military Research and Development, House Committee on National Security, requested that we provide an independent assessment of the AIM-9X program’s status. Our objectives were to determine (1) the services’ efforts to reduce missile development risk, (2) the missile program’s plan to transition from development to production, and (3) the importance of separately managed but essential supporting systems. To evaluate the missile’s development risk, we visited the program office and the contractor where we discussed technology and schedule risk. We reviewed the program acquisition and test plans. We visited the Naval Air Weapons Center at China Lake, California, where we discussed the missile program’s technology and schedule with the government short-range missile experts. We reviewed reports prepared by the contractors during the program demonstration and validation phase. We also reviewed several studies of foreign missiles, including the Senior Review Team analysis of the ASRAAM program. To assess the missile program’s plan to transition from development to production, we examined the planned development and operational test schedules and production plans. We considered the amount and type of testing that is planned to be accomplished before the first and subsequent production decisions. We discussed test plans and potential risks with program, contractor, and DOD officials charged with managing and overseeing missile flight testing. We also reviewed our previous reports on other major acquisition systems with regard to readiness to enter low-rate initial production. We reviewed the helmet-mounted cueing system, a separately managed but essential supporting system, to determine its importance to the AIM-9X system. We discussed program technical issues with program managers. We also compared schedule plans for the AIM-9X missile, helmet-mounted cueing system, and associated aircraft modifications. During the course of this review, we met with representatives from the DOD Inspector General, Naval Air Systems Command, and Air Force Headquarters, Washington, D.C.; Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia; Naval Air Weapons Center, China Lake, California; Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; Aeronautical Systems Center and National Air Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; ASRAAM Senior Review Team, Baltimore, Maryland; and Hughes Missile Systems Company, Tucson, Arizona. We performed our audit between July 1996 and October 1997 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. The AIM-9X missile development program is designed to balance the requirements for a more capable short-range missile with the users’ limited resources and the need to field the new missile as soon as possible.