Just saw this in a news blip

“”Completion of this test means our warfighters are another step closer to receiving the world’s most capable infrared air-to-air missile,” said Penfield. “The AIM-9X Block II is a revolutionary weapon that will give the warfighter a critical advantage. No other missile in the world will match the AIM-9X Block II in range, maneuverability, off-boresight capability and speed.”

Anybody know anything about this thing? ISTR it having a bigger motor than AIM-9X (and I’m fairly certain I’m not confusing that with RAM Block II).

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=149999&TICK=RTN&STORY=/www/story/09-18-2008/0004887895&EDATE=Sep+18,+2008

Since no-one has answered Sferrin’s query, I’ll have a go at it.

No new motor, I’m afraid. One of the changes introduced by the Block II P3I missile was to replace the existing DSU-37/B laser proximity fuze in order to address component obsolescence issues. The new Advanced Optical Detector System is smaller that the original fuze, so freed up some space within the missile.

This is being exploited by the addition of the AMRAAM datalink, which will allow long-range engagements using a lofted trajectory and near-rear-hemisphere engagements using the JHMCS. The Block II missile also has what has been described as a “software driven” Lock On After Launch (LOAL) capability. A future third-party targeting capability, via the datalink, is reported to be under consideration.

Next stage will be the Block III P3I, but this could be a decade away. For the moment, it’s a study.