The US Air Force conducted a live-fire test of an AGM-158C LRASM anti-ship missile from a B-2 Spirit bomber north of the Mariana Islands on 30 June, sinking a target vessel. Simultaneously, the Marine Corps tested the new Medium-Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) air defence system on Guam, and the Air Force announced an industry day in August for a new air-launched weapon with a range of 1,850 km. These actions, all part of or linked to the Valiant Shield 2026 exercise, mark a coordinated acceleration of conventional strike and defence modernisation in the western Pacific.

According to US Pacific Air Forces commander General Kevin Schneider, the LRASM test demonstrated the ability to hold strategic targets at risk from extended distances and underscored a commitment to a “free and open Pacific.” Defence analysts in Israel and Italy frame the MRIC deployment and the AFLRW programme as direct responses to China’s growing missile capabilities, particularly medium-range systems that put Guam within reach. Viewed from Washington, the moves are presented as ensuring adaptability and maintaining a decisive advantage, while Chinese defence officials have not publicly commented on the specific tests.

The LRASM, with a published range of 800 km, now equips the B-2 for long-range maritime strike, adding a conventional stand-off option to the bomber’s role. The MRIC, derived from Israel’s Iron Dome and mounted on mobile trailers, fills a two-decade gap in the Marines’ medium-range air defence and is designed to protect distributed forces across the Indo-Pacific island chains. The planned Air Force Long Range Weapon (AFLRW), to be developed in air-to-air and air-to-surface variants, would outrange the current AIM-120D AMRAAM by a factor of nearly ten, according to technical specifications cited by Israeli defence sources. Its guidance would rely on a “kill web” of space-based sensors and networked drones to overcome radar horizon limitations.

The developments run parallel to a separate US nuclear modernisation: the Navy and the National Nuclear Security Administration are jointly developing the W93/Mk7 warhead, the first new US nuclear warhead in four decades, and a life-extension for the Trident II D5 missile. The Air Force will host potential contractors for the AFLRW at Eglin Air Force Base in late August, seeking a prime integrator capable of delivering fully assembled and tested munitions. The MRIC is scheduled to enter service with all three Marine low-altitude air defence battalions between 2026 and 2028, with initial Tamir interceptors already delivered and SkyHunter production underway in Arkansas.