SAEDNEWS: U.S. Air Force Announces Successful Flight Test of Advanced SiAW Air-to-Ground Missile
According to the political desk of the Saadnews news outlet, although the recent SiAW test was conducted from an F-16 fighter jet, the U.S. military’s primary plan is to install and integrate this missile onto fifth-generation stealth fighters—especially the F-35.
The missile enables F-35 pilots to penetrate so-called anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) networks and strike mobile targets. Among the targets SiAW is specifically designed to engage are:
Mobile missile launchers
Command and control nodes
Electronic warfare and jamming systems
Air defense radar systems
Some specialized reports have classified the SiAW missile as a hypersonic system. However, the manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, has not yet confirmed the missile’s exact speed.
What is clear is the designers’ emphasis on the missile’s ability to engage time-sensitive threats under the most challenging combat conditions. In addition, SiAW is built using a digital open-systems architecture, allowing the U.S. Air Force to rapidly and easily update the missile’s software and subsystems in the future, ensuring continued effectiveness against evolving threats.
The successful completion of the missile-separation test phase represents a major step toward making SiAW operational. The U.S. Air Force aims to achieve Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for this new weapon by early 2026. The program includes three additional guided flight tests and the delivery of early missile units to the military for further evaluation—underscoring Washington’s determination to significantly enhance its offensive capabilities in future combat environments.
