Missile AIM-174B

The AIM-174B Gunslinger is a very long-range air-to-air missile in service with the United States Navy. It is an air-launched derivative of the RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (SM-6), a member of the extended Standard Missile family, and is officially described by the Navy as the "Air-Launched Configuration" of the SM-6.

The Navy had operated no dedicated long-range air-to-air missile since the AIM-54 Phoenix was retired in 2004. Reports of an air-launched SM-6 circulated from 2015, and photographs of F/A-18 Super Hornets carrying an SM-6 variant appeared in 2018. Integration of the RIM-174 onto the Super Hornet was reported in April 2021. The weapon is believed to have been developed as a special access program. Its existence was publicly confirmed in July 2024 during RIMPAC 2024, and the Naval Aviation 2025 document disclosed the "Gunslinger" nickname in May 2025. Its relationship to the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, developed jointly with the Air Force, has not been clarified. Both are intended to counter extreme-range air-to-air missiles such as the Russian R-37M and the Chinese PL-21.

Externally the AIM-174B is close to identical to the RIM-174, the principal difference being the omission of the Mk 72 solid-fuel booster used for surface launch. The missile likely retains the Mk 104 solid-fuel sustainer motor of the surface-launched version. It uses active radar guidance and is capable of speeds of at least Mach 3.5. The standard warhead is a high-explosive blast-fragmentation charge, over three times the warhead weight of the AIM-120 AMRAAM and seven times that of the AIM-9X. Warheads producing area effects may also be available. Air launch at altitude and at the speed of the carrier aircraft, combined with lofted flight profiles reaching altitudes on the order of 80,000 to 100,000 feet, is expected to produce ranges considerably greater than the figure released by the Navy. As a derivative of the SM-6 family, the missile is expected to retain anti-ship and land-attack capability as well as anti-ship-missile and anti-ballistic-missile engagement functions. The Missile Defense Agency has stated that the Gunslinger has counter-hypersonic capability.

Variants comprise the YAIM-174 prototype, the XAIM-174 used for initial testing, the instrumented NAIM-174, the operational AIM-174B, the CATM-174B inert training round with guidance electronics but no warhead or motor, and the DATM-174B handling dummy.

The AIM-174B is operated only by the United States Navy and has been cleared for carriage and launch solely by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Speculation persists regarding integration on other airframes, including the F-15E, F-15EX, B-52 and B-21. In September 2024, photographs showed an F/A-18F of test squadron VX-9 carrying four AIM-174Bs alongside three AIM-120s, two AIM-9Xs, an IRST21 sensor in an FPU-13/A tank, and an AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR pod. The missile has been deployed operationally aboard several Nimitz-class carriers. Anticipated employment includes engagement of tankers, airborne early warning aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft operating behind the front line, and defensive engagement of bombers such as the Chinese H-6 threatening carrier groups.