Australia Becomes First Foreign Buyer of America's Secret AIM-260 Missile, $518 Million Deal

Australia just became the first foreign country allowed to buy one of the most closely guarded weapons in the U.S. arsenal.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles announced Thursday, August 6, 2026, at Exercise Pitch Black in Darwin that Australia will spend almost A$736 million (about $518 million USD) to acquire up to 450 AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missiles, according to Breaking Defense and Janes. The deal runs through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.

The AIM-260, built by Lockheed Martin, wasn't even publicly photographed until May 2026, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine as cited by Breaking Defense. Janes reports the missile is roughly 4 meters long, has a range exceeding 180 kilometers, and is designed to fit inside the F-22's internal weapons bay. Beyond that, most of what it actually does remains classified.

The State Department cleared Australia to buy the JATM back in March 2026. At the time, the full purchase price, including test articles and support equipment, was estimated at over $3 billion, according to Breaking Defense. The $518 million figure announced this week appears to cover an initial tranche, not the whole program.

Marles called it "a really significant purchase to upgrade the capability" of the Royal Australian Air Force, tying it to the country's Defence Strategic Review. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy went further: "JATM missiles are some of the most sophisticated air-to-air weapons in the world, and Australia will be the first country to operate them outside the United States," he said, according to TWZ and Airforce Technology. Conroy linked the buy to Canberra's pledge of up to A$36 billion ($23.4 billion USD) over the next decade for guided weapons and explosive ordnance.

Where It's Going First

The rollout plan is staged. The RAAF will integrate the AIM-260 first on its F/A-18F Super Hornets, then the F-35A Lightning II, and finally the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, according to all four sources.

TWZ flagged something new: putting the missile on the Growler wasn't previously on the radar. Up to now, the priority U.S. platforms for JATM integration have been the F/A-18E/F and the F-22. Because the Growler shares so much hardware with the Super Hornet, TWZ notes the integration should be straightforward.

Looking further out, TWZ also points to Australia's MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone as a likely future JATM carrier. The Ghost Bat has already fired an AMRAAM missile from an external pylon, and the upcoming Block 3 version is set to add internal weapons carriage.

Why This, Why Now

None of this is happening in a vacuum. TWZ frames the purchase squarely around China's expanding air power, including its own long-range air-to-air missiles. Beyond-visual-range combat is the game now, and whoever shoots first and farthest wins.

Australia isn't just buying missiles off the shelf, either. On the same day, the country's Department of Defence announced it had successfully flight-tested an indigenously developed solid rocket motor, the Koonibba Rising 3.0, according to Breaking Defense. The 100-kilogram class motor was built through a partnership between Australia's Defence Science and Technology Group and Thales Australia, with the flight test run by Australian company Southern Launch. The Department of Defence said the motor performed "as designed."

That's a separate program from the AIM-260 buy, but it points the same direction: Australia wants its own guided-weapons manufacturing base, not just a shopping list from Washington.

For context on the money, Airforce Technology cites GlobalData figures showing Australia's 2026 defence budget at $47.9 billion, with defence spending growing at a 6.3% compound annual rate since 2022. This missile deal is one piece of a much larger spending surge under the Albanese government.

What's Unresolved

The AIM-260's actual performance specs remain classified, so there's no independent way to verify claims that it outperforms existing weapons like the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Janes notes the missile's fuselage resembles the AIM-120 family but lacks its mid-fuselage fins, which is about as much detail as the public record offers.

There's also no confirmed timeline yet for when Australia will take delivery of the full order, or whether the country will move forward with the larger $3 billion-plus package the State Department cleared back in March. That's the next thing to watch: whether this $518 million tranche is the whole deal or just the down payment.