METEOR

Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM)

METEOR is being developed to meet the requirements of six European nations for a superior Beyond Visual Range missile system with the operational capability to excel in all current and future combat scenarios.
It is being integrated on Europe’s major platforms, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and Rafale. It also has the potential to add to the air-to-air capability of other combat platforms including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The METEOR programme sees the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden joining together in order to provide access to technology and expertise across Europe.
 
METEOR is a fast and highly manoeuvrable Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air weapon. Guidance is provided by an active radar seeker benefiting from enhanced technologies drawn from the MBDA Aster and Mica missile programmes.  The missile is allocated targets from the launch aircraft radar and is capable of engaging air targets autonomously by night or day, in all weather and in severe electronic warfare environments. The increasing proliferation of state of the art Air to Air threats, that are challenging the already in service Air to Air combat system is a critical challenge for modern Air Forces which is answered by the METEOR. Designed to defeat current and future threats, METEOR provides the long stand-off range and high kill probability which combine to ensure air superiority and pilot survivability. The missile’s ramjet propulsion system gives METEOR its high speed performance and the energy to defeat fast, manoeuvring targets at long range. METEOR is equipped with both a proximity and impact fuse to ensure total target destruction in all circumstances.

Programme Status

The METEOR contract was signed by the UK Defence Procurement Agency on 23rd December 2002 on behalf of all six nations. This contract covers development of METEOR and provides production options to meet the individual national requirements.

The METEOR programme has been moving ahead at some pace since the 2002 contract signature. During 2003, the missile completed its Preliminary Design Review and a new wingless configuration for the design was accepted.  Two major subcontracts were placed in the first half of 2003, one with Thales for the development and initial production of the seeker system and the other with Bayern Chemie / Protac for the development, first lot production and integrated logistics for METEOR ramjet propulsion subsystem. The development is performed by industries of the 6 Nations; METEOR is a benchmark example of European industrial cooperation.

In September 2003 a trial fit of a representative METEOR missile to a Eurofighter Typhoon was successfully completed as was a similar fit to a Gripen and Rafale in 2004. In late 2004 a second round of aero-dynamic wind tunnel trials took place confirming the missile’s design integrity.
To date, fully instrumented METEOR missiles have been successfully flown on captive aircraft trials to analyse performance at extremes of aircraft environment. Live catapult take-off and landings performed from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in December 2005 will serve to further confirm METEOR handling characteristics.

December 2005 saw a series of highly significant test flights with representative METEOR missiles fitted to each of the combat aircraft on which the weapon system will be integrated: Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and Rafale.

During May, June and September 2006 a series of successful ALD (Air Launched Demonstration) test firings were carried out from a Gripen combat aircraft at the Vidsel range in Sweden. Since then, the test firing campaign has been continuing with, most recently, a guided firing taking place again from a Gripen in March 2008. These tests demonstrate that the breakthrough technologies that are key to the Meteor programme have been proven, confirming that METEOR is the world’s most advanced BVRAAM.