AIM-120C-5 motor is known, it is not known whether AIM-120C-7 or AIM-120D continued to use the same motor.
We know AIM-120C-7 and AIM-120D have the same motor, which is still using sidewinder based propellant. AIM-9X rocket motor is derived from the MK36 used on the earlier sidewinders, but propellant, grain pattern, etc have all improved drastically over time. AIM-9X block II motor has a slightly different designation than block 1, presumably some changes were made to the motor but we do not know what.
TL;DR
High performance (high specific impulse) propellants have been developed for our missiles for some time now, it is highly likely they have moved towards the production of these propellants. If we find information on the impulse or characteristics of one, we can better guess the performance of the other since they are using the same stuff.
And as I posted above, the the AIM-120D-3 uses a different (larger) motor than the previous models.
according DLA.MIL the D may not have a different motor “041GUIDED MISSILE,INTERCEPT-AERIAL1410-WH90Radar Guided Missile AIM-120D is an upgraded Aim-120C Missile that includes GPS/IMU Enhanced Datalink and software upgraded capabilities.|A1410WH90”
also according to the same DLA.MIL file it shares the same motor by the designation WPU-16/B
We already know the AIM-120D shares the same motor as the AIM-120C-7, the AIM-120D-3(F3R) is the model that has the larger motor.
Also, these sites have regularly posted misinformation on the weight, range, parts of the missile so I wouldn’t be surprised if they continue to do so.
aim-260 is quite impressive considering it’s still essentially in the same form factor as aim-120. really impressed at how much range they’ve managed to squeeze out of it
here is the link to the study itself https://www.aeroweaponry.avic.com/CN/10.12132/ISSN.1673-5048.2025.0057
If this does hold up, it’s looking like the chinese will have the very best long range missile, with the us close behind, then the russians
