The US defense and technology group Lockheed Martinmanufacturer of the F-35 Lightning II stealth multirole fighter, the European missile company MBDA and the F-35 Joint Program Office management organization report on the successful completion of critical ground-based integration tests with the Meteor missile and the F-35A.
Ground vibration and fit tests conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, confirmed the important hardware interactions between the fifth-generation fighter and the missile – a critical step before flight testing begins, according to a statement from the companies involved. Engineers carefully analyzed the data collected to confirm that the missile can be safely stowed and deployed in the F-35A’s internal weapons bay without compromising the aircraft’s valuable stealth capability.
A ground test is still pending before flight testing can be released. This brings the Meteor missile and the F-35A one step closer to operational readiness.
Meteor flight tests with F-35B
These latest tests follow the announcement by the Royal Air Force from March this year about successful Meteor flight tests on an F-35B. The UK is leading the integration campaign for the F-35B, while Italy is supporting integration on the F-35A. The F-35’s sensor technology combined with the Meteor’s flight dynamics will give the British and Italian operators the expected operational advantage.
Meteor is Europe’s most important air-to-air missile and is currently used in the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale and the Saab Gripen. Integration into the KAI KF-21 is in progress or planned. Indian media report that the Meteor will also be integrated into the HAL Tejas (-> Tejas jet crashes during flight demonstration in Dubai) and the Sukhoi Su-30MKI are to be scaffolded.
MBDA Meteor
The European long-range air-to-air missile Meteor is one of the most powerful weapons of its kind in the world. A solid rocket ramjet engine gives it speeds of Mach 4 and higher and ranges of around 200 kilometers and beyond. It is controlled via inertial navigation, a network-capable data link and active radar homing on final approach.
In addition to the countries in the manufacturing consortium – France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden – the missile was also exported to Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the Eurofighter, to India, Greece and Egypt for the Rafale and to Brazil for the Gripen E.
The German Air Force fired the first first meteor shot for test purposes from a Eurofighter for test purposes. The Brazilian Air Force successfully fired a Meteor guided missile at an air target from a Saab Gripen E multi-role combat aircraft for the first time just a few days ago.
Here for more news about Lockheed Martin and here to further news about MBDA.
