It is conceivable that air to air missiles might be loaded, giving the bomber a lethal self-defense capability. Indeed, with the large external stores racks, the B-52J could pack a much longer range punch than possible with the medium-range AIM-120 AMRAAM. The USAF modified the RIM-66 SM-1 Standard missile into an air-launched antiradiation missile (ARM) in 1968; conversion of the various long-range Standard missile variants into a long range antiair or antisurface weapon would be reasonable for a bomber aircraft with large external stores capacity.
