The Navy’s new air-to-air capability could set roadmap for repurposing old systems

“A living dog is better than a dead lion,” or so goes the Biblical saying. It’s advice the US military, too often focused on the promise of a game-changing capability at the expense of capacity today, should consider listening to.

The Pentagon regularly sacrifices the fleets and inventories of the services on the altar of the high-tech future when the reality is that the military is a constant blend of old and new. Whether it be drone swarms, cutting-edge laser weapons or next-gen hypersonics, DoD planners have never seen an expensive technology of the future they didn’t want to pursue. And while the Pentagon absolutely needs to be on the cutting edge of military technology, this frequently results in the familiar refrain from Pentagon budget planners that to invest in the new, the military must divest from the old.

As a result, the department too often ends up in a rinse-and-repeat cycle of shedding outdated equipment to fund the innovations of tomorrow. The latest example is Air Force leaders’ desire to retire advanced F-22 stealth fighters in pursuit of the even more exquisite but far less certain, and distant, capability offered by the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. Also predictably, as the NGAD price jumped and timeline slipped yet again, some generals are in revolt, calling to keep the Raptors in hand versus NGADs in a (proverbial) bush.

The idea that something is old or vulnerable in war should not be enough to send it to the boneyard. Remember, every piece of technology often needs a “truck” to pair up with. In many cases, any old chassis, hull or airframe will do just fine.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the US Navy’s most recent tech game-changing capability, revealed without much fanfare at the Rim of the Pacific exercises: the AIM-174B missile, a modified version of the SM-6 missile for airborne launch, allowing it to target aerial, ballistic, and possibly surface threats at ranges of hundreds of miles, far outside the ranges of tens of miles offered by existing air-to-air munitions. And, the truck for this new tech is the fleet’s “legacy” F/A-18E/F, ensuring the 4th-generation fighter a key role on the future battlefield.

The extensive range and air-launched capability are poised to greatly bolster the US Navy’s fleet defense and high value asset attack, weakening the stranglehold of China’s anti-carrier strategy. In addition to its air-to-air capability, the SM-6 was also designed with ballistic missile interception in mind, and could be used to better intercept ballistic, hypersonic, and air-breathing missiles which threaten American aircraft carrier strike groups.

Furthermore, Super Hornets carrying the adapted payload can reach far beyond the range of traditional missiles, and strike airborne targets outside the range of China’s sophisticated air defense network. This would hold crucial backline airborne assets line airborne early warning (AEW) and tanker aircraft at risk, and even directly strike China’s distant H-6 “carrier killer” bombers, destroying them before they launch their weapons.

Though the air-launched configuration SM-6s are relatively new, the Standard Missile concept has been a core component of the Navy’s arsenal for decades. Mounting these advanced missiles on Super Hornets demonstrates the continued relevance and adaptability of the older platform. This innovation effectively extends the F/A-18s operational viability and adds crucial new warfighting roles, buying the Navy valuable time as it waits for the production and deployment of the newer F-35s and autonomous aircraft.

Most important, the extreme versatility of this new capability — from much farther ranges to targeting to target types — creates giant dilemmas for the CCP or other enemies. Rather than exquisite unitaskers, America’s military needs more systems that can do lots of things, in order to confuse our adversaries and keep them from simply building a counter weapon to quickly negate our supremacy.

Though the most significant recent example, the understated rollout of the AIM-174 is not a first. Examples abound of successful legacy weapons being updated or repurposed to meet the moment.

Air Force Block 20 and Block 30 RQ-4 Global Hawk drones: Repurposed as “Range Hawks” for hypersonic missile testing.
Army MC-1C Grey Eagle drones: Integrated with new satellites and sensors for faster kill chain closure, also equipped with jamming pods for offensive electronic warfare — a capability the Army divested after the end of the Cold War.
Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt: Often lamented as a dated ground attack aircraft from the Cold War, some A-10Cs are now deployed with US bombers carrying ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoys, which confuse enemy air defense systems by mimicking US aircraft and increasing the survivability of nearby aircraft.
Littoral Combat Ship: Though the program has drawn much criticism, recent efforts to equip some ships with long range precision fires and unmanned systems have shown promise, allowing the small ship to pack far more punch.

Repurposing older technology creates a crucial bridge from the present to the future. Instead of prematurely retiring aging aircraft before their replacements are ready, the military should find new uses for old equipment to field new capabilities.

As Anthony Zinni, the retired Maring four-star who once led US Central Command, cautioned in 2022: “Before you step off that damn lily pad, make sure you got one to step onto.” While technology is important and should be integrated into broader force design, doctrine, and employment, Zinni emphasized that the military should be careful not to assume technology renders other capabilities obsolete rather than complementary.

As the future is fielded, all the military services will be a blended mix of old equipment and new technologies. The Pentagon must avoid the ancient Roman tactic of burning the bridge behind them by immediately throwing aside older weapons systems in favor of wholesale investments in new technologies and platforms that often don’t arrive on time.

By continually finding innovative uses for legacy systems, the Pentagon can ensure the armed forces remain operationally relevant while maintaining what little capacity is left in service fleets and inventories that is needed for competition and conflict.

Mackenzie Eaglen is a long-time defense expert at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Cole Spiller is a Research Associate at AEI.