Video: The longest-range air-to-air missile in US history is here?

As tensions with China continue to rise over the independence of Taiwan and the sovereignty of the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy is about to put one of the longest-ranged air-to-air missiles in history into service.

Recently, the U.S. Navy released images of an F/A-18 Super Hornet firing an SM-6 air-launched missile. The new munition promises to bring unparalleled capabilities into the U.S. Navy’s arsenal.

“These new weapons, we’ve come to learn, have been given the designation AIM-174, and could give America’s carrier-based fighters the means to engage enemy aircraft from literally hundreds of miles away, while also offering the ability to engage enemy warships and even to intercept inbound threats like ballistic or cruise missiles,” Alex Hollings, the Editor-in-Chief of Sandboxx News and host of AirPower on YouTube, said in a recent video.

The next near-peer conflict will rely heavily on naval and air assets. China presents the most acute national security threat to the United States in the long term. A potential conflict with Beijing would take place in the vast Indo-Pacific area of operations. As such, the Navy and Air Force both need munitions and platforms that can travel long distances and are easy to maintain. The AIM-174 missile’s ability to engage targets hundreds of miles away could prove invaluable against the Chinese military.

If you want to learn more about one of the U.S. military’s most promising new weapons, check out our video above.