Budget docs dated March of 2019 give the first official explanation of the program and why it needs a $6.5M high-security storage vault at Hill AFB.
18th Wing Public Affairs—Public Domain
Big news hit in late June that the USAF and the Navy have been well on their way to secretly developing an all-new beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile intended to replace the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The missile is officially called the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, or JATM. The effort has been fast-tracked in order to counter rapid developments in long-range air-to-air missile capabilities among America’s peer state competitors and especially China. You can read all about this new missile in our recent article on it linked here, but Air Force budget documents dating back to March of 2019 appear to have been the first source to detail the program and underline just how important the Pentagon thinks the secrecy surrounding it is to national security.
The USAF’s Fiscal Year 2020 military construction budget plan, dated March of 2019, details the need for $6.5M to build a “Joint Advanced Tactical Missile Storage Facility” at Hill AFB’s sprawling Site A weapons storage area. The document goes into detail about the facility and its justification, mentioning the AIM-260 by name. It states:
This project is required to support the handling, inspection, and storing of the Airborne Intercept Missile (AIM)-260A Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) assets. The AIM-260A JATM program is rapidly expanding, highly sensitive missile program developed jointly by the Air Force and Navy to countercurrent and projected potential adversary aircraft, and to maintain air superiority under any wartime scenario. Potential adversaries are modernizing and innovating, putting at risk America’s technological advantages in air and space.
The AIM-260A JATM program is the number one air-delivered weapon priority for both the Air Force and the Navy; and out prioritizes other weapon system improvements and modernization efforts on any fielded aircraft. Because of the classified nature of this program, AIM 260A JATM assets cannot be housed in shared facilities with legacy munitions; and must be supported by a facility designed to meet specific operational requirements, and the stricter Special Access Program Facility security requirements.
CURRENT SITUATION: There are currently insufficient numbers of suitable storage facilities on Air Force controlled land in Utah to support the obligated storage mission of this rapidly expanding program that is vital to the national security of the United States. The majority of existing facilities currently used to store legacy missile assets are WWII era Munitions Storage Magazines (MSM) or “Igloos” located in the munitions storage area of Hill AFB. These facilities were originally designed and constructed to store surplus artillery rounds and were slated for demolition due to their decrepit condition and due to the high cost to operate and maintain them. However, because of START treaty obligations, these facilities were refurbished, such that, they are now able to minimally provide a suitable environments to store a single ICBM booster each. None are available to be adapted to support the AIM-260A JATM storage mission.
IMPACT IF NOT PROVIDED: Without this projects [sic], the required rapid fielding of the AIM-260A JATM could be delayed and could put at risk our nation’s efforts to maintain air superiority advantages in highly contested environments.
ADDITIONAL: This project meets the criteria/scope specified in Air Force Manual 32-1084 “Facility Requirements.” This project does not fall within or partly within the 100-year flood plain. A preliminary analysis of reasonable options for satisfying the requirement was done. Those options included renovation of existing facilities, use of DoD facilities at other bases, and new construction. The analysis indicated that new construction is the only options that will fully meet operational requirements. A formal economic analysis has been requested and will be approved prior to the president’s budget submission. Project Supporting Facilities exceed 25% of total project cost due to the extensive support work for earth covered facility. This design shall conform to criteria established in the Air Force Corporate Facilities Standards (AFCFS), the Installation Facilities Standards (IFS) [ifavailable], but will not employ a standard facility design because there is no AF standard facility design for this project and there is no applicable standard design from Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC).
Content retrieved from: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28796/new-aim-260-missiles-are-so-secretive-they-will-require-a-custom-storage-bunker-at-hill-afb?fbclid=IwAR0enn5RspmlcdaDjGaIpTejlVJs1y2zeAYb3Q6lEIQmRpT2ahfSh-cQFd4.