Saab has completed trial firings of the Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) from the Gripen aircraft, clearing the missile for integration with the multi-role fighter.
The firings were undertaken in March at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration’s (FMV) Vidsel Test Range in northern Sweden. Two Meteors were fired at remotely-controlled targets on two consecutive days.
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The trials demonstrated safe separation of the missile from the aircraft and datalink functions between the two, Saab said.
The firings tested Meteor’s capabilities at both low and high altitude and at speed while the launch aircraft was manoeuvring. The previous trials of the missile tested software compatibility.
Manufactured by MBDA, Meteor is an active radar guided missile designed to provide a multi-shot capability against long-range manoeuvring targets, such as fast jets, small UAVs and cruise missiles in a heavy electronic countermeasures environment.
Meteor will be delivered to Sweden as part of Gripen’s MS20 combat systems update.
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By GlobalDataThe MS20 will be supplied to FMV by the end of this year, while its formal induction into the Swedish Air Force is planned for 2015.
Saab Meteor integration project manager Tobias Andersson said the integration of Meteor capability for the Swedish Air Force is a first for this type of BVR missile.
"Sweden now has a head start in developing strategies to use this capability in air combat," Andersson said.
Sweden is working with France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK to develop the Meteor missile with MBDA as the prime contractor.
Image: A Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile being fired from Gripen fighter aircraft. Photo: courtesy of MBDA.
