Defesanet 20 Junho 2006
MBDA 20 Junho 2006

TRIALS SUCCESS FOR EUROPE'S METEOR
AIR DOMINANCE MISSILE

The six-nation Meteor Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile was successfully fired for the second time at the FMV missile test range at Vidsel in northern Sweden on 20th June. The firing continues the ongoing Air Launched Demonstration (ALD) firing campaign, scheduled for completion during 2006 under the Meteor development contract.

The purpose of the ALD campaign is to demonstrate the maturity of the missile development programme and provide an opportunity to identify issues which may affect the missile's development such that these can then be resolved at an early stage

On 9th May, Meteor prime contractor MBDA conducted the first firing while the second took place on 20th June, completing the first two of a series of scheduled firings aimed at gathering data on the missile's performance and its characteristics during launch and free flight. This data will be utilised in the further development of the missile. Both firings were rail-launched from a Saab Gripen combat aircraft flying at an altitude of 23,000 ft.

The firings follow rapidly on from the successful series of Meteor carriage trials on each of the platforms for which the missile is being developed - Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and Rafale. Prior to these air-launched firings, MBDA also successfully completed a series of "free jet" wind tunnel tests of Meteor at the ONERA supersonic wind tunnel facility in Modane, France. During the final test, conducted by a joint MBDA / ONERA team, a live propulsion system was fitted to the missile and the transition from the boost to sustain phase of operation was demonstrated in simulated free flight conditions.

Both air-launched firings demonstrated the successful launch of the missile from the Gripen aircraft, control of the missile over the pre-determined flight time (slightly under one minute), the operation of the telemetry system with data being recorded across the complete flight times and the telemetry break-up sub-system, with the missiles being broken up within the confines of the test range by the Vidsel range authorities as intended.

MBDA's Meteor Multinational Project Director, Dave Armstrong, said: "These live missile air launches represent a huge achievement as they represent the earliest ever flights of a new missile with solid fuel ramjet technology and have been completed in just over three years from contract let. A minor glitch was observed during the first missile firing with the missile failing to transition to the sustain phase of flight and therefore continuing over the pre-determined flight time under boost impulse, gradually decelerating through the flight. The source of this failure was quickly identified and a modification made which was subsequently proven during the second firing with the missile successfully transitioning from the boost to the sustain phase of flight and completing a series of post-transition manoeuvres".

"I am delighted that the test proved to be such a resounding success. It is a testament to the combined efforts of the Meteor team, its subcontractors and, of course, the customer nations," Armstrong added.

The ALD campaign will continue through 2006, with firing dates agreed with the customer to fit with availability of the Vidsel range.

Notes:

Located about 900km north of Stockholm in the Arctic Circle, the Vidsel missile test range forms part of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration Testing Directorate. It is the largest overland test range in Western Europe.

MBDA is the prime contractor for the METEOR missile programme and has established the METEOR team with Saab Bofors Dynamics of Sweden and INMIZE of Spain as its partners.

Saab Bofors Dynamics is a business unit of Saab, one of the world´s leading high-technology companies whose main operations focus on defence, aviation and space.

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 dominate the air battlespace, excelling in all future combat scenarios and capable of 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 the next generation combat platform, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The METEOR programme sees France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK joining together in order to provide access to guided weapons technology and expertise across Europe. 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.

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.

With an annual turnover exceeding € 3.5 billion, a forward order book of over €14 billion and over 70 customers world wide, MBDA is a world leading, global missile systems company. MBDA currently has 45 missile system and countermeasure programmes in operational service and has proven its ability as prime contractor to head major multi-national projects.

MBDA is jointly owned by BAE SYSTEMS (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and FINMECCANICA (25%).