The government has confirmed that integration of the MBDA Meteor air-to-air missile with the F-35B remains on an early 2030s timeline, with Minister Luke Pollard telling parliament on 20 April that “integration testing continues and the estimated timeline for in-service capability remains the early 2030s”, adding that the work is driven by the US-led Lightning II Joint Programme Office.
The answer offers nothing new, which is itself the story, given that the weapon has been in development for integration onto the F-35 since 2019, has slipped from a mid-decade target to 2027 and then again to the early 2030s across multiple administrations, and the latest parliamentary answer contains no indication that the pace is about to change or that anyone in the programme is treating the delay as a problem that requires urgent resolution.
The structural reason for that is the F-35’s Block 4 software upgrade, which is a prerequisite for integrating any new weapons including both Meteor and SPEAR 3 and which has itself run significantly late and over budget, having risen from an original cost estimate of $10.6 billion to around $16.5 billion with completion now anticipated around 2029, and because any weapon integration on the F-35 requires approval and coordination through the US-led Joint Programme Office the UK has limited ability to accelerate things unilaterally, with partner nations having little recourse when the programme misses its own targets.
That structural dependency matters beyond just the Meteor timeline, because it means the UK’s ability to equip its most capable combat aircraft with the weapons it actually wants is contingent on a US-led programme that has consistently underdelivered, and the same constraint applies to SPEAR 3, to any future weapons the UK might want to integrate, and potentially to GCAP if lessons from the F-35 experience are not applied to how that programme is structured from the outset.
Some progress has been made, with the RAF confirming in February 2025 that the first test flights of an inert Meteor on an F-35B had been conducted by the US Marine Corps at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, and ground vibration testing and fit checks on the F-35A were completed at Edwards Air Force Base in December 2025, though the fact that those milestones are still being described as significant progress illustrates how much of the journey remains ahead before the weapon is anywhere near operational service.
In the meantime the F-35B carries the AIM-120 AMRAAM as its primary beyond-visual-range missile, which is a capable weapon but has a considerably shorter effective range than Meteor, whose ramjet propulsion gives it a no-escape zone regarded as significantly larger than any comparable missile currently in service and which is already operational on the RAF’s Typhoon fleet, meaning the UK is flying two front-line combat aircraft types where one has a materially superior air-to-air capability to the other, and that gap is not going to close for the better part of a decade at the current pace.
Meteor on F35 is not that big a deal, AMRAAM D is highly capable and given its half the price of Meteor both missile have a long term role to play on F35B for the UK.
SPEAR is much more important
I’d strongly argue against the line in the article stating that Typhoon has superior air to air capability. Even with the shorter range AMRAAM the F35Bs all aspect stealth and APG-81 radar will make quick work of a Typhoon at BVR ranges. The gap will close when Typhoon receives ECRS MK2, but the stealth makes a huge difference for F35. He who sees first, shoots first. Kill.
Yes however since the chance of an F35 and a Typhoon coming to blows are unlikely it’s probably not the best metric to compare.
With the ECRS mk2 typhoon will probably have a significant detection advantage over APG 81 by possibly as much as 40km, typhoon also has significantly better kinetic and altitude performance.
In an BVR engagement with Meteor against Russian aircraft Typhoon has a significant advantage in BVR over F35 however F35 is able to get in significantly closer and does not rely as much in expensive long range missiles as typhoon.
In air policing Typhoon is superior to F35, in almost all other scenarios F35 is superior.
Together they are a formidable paring
The F35 also has APG-85 coming, and is already being delivered to new build F35s. You are right about the kinetic performance advantage of Typhoon, but F35s overall advantages of sensor fusion, stealth and ISTAR capabilities gives it a considerable advantage. The RAFs experience with F35B with Typhoon has proven its 5th gen advantages. Like you say though, paired together, they are a very formidable team.
I agree Meteor has distinct advantages over AMRAAM in its kill radius so against anything other than a stealth target gives Typhoon potential advantage. More interesting is Gripen’s (in E/F version) performance with Meteor with probably the most advanced IR sensor installation available (we saw Iran managed an IR ‘hit’) and a level of digital stealth too, while being able to share data seamlessly with other Gripens. Technically it might be able to detect an F-35 at distance passively and attack using Meteor but if this has been physically tested in an authentic scenario no one is giving out the results. But in this regard it is arguably the most capable air to air 4th Gen combatant out there against stealth opposition, certainly the most likely to catch an F-35 pilot unawares till Typhoon gets its new radar anyway. Meanwhile it’s eating F-16s et al for dinner.
And yet Japan and Norway will get their JSM missiles integrated on the F-35 this year. Funny that.
Probably because those nations have actually committed to the JSF programme.
No it’s because JSM is a US weapon from Raytheon. It has multiple customers demanding it so it gets more priority than SPEAR.
Indeed Jim it was significant that a couple years ago military types and even Congress were going crazy over the lack of weapons, especially offensive weapons available to the F-35 in light of reports of considerable Chinese advances in Air Defence making F-35 and refuelling assets deeply vulnerable. Sadly for us they need those missiles urgently, while delaying Meteor gives them little negative effect while actually offering the benefit of keeping a rival off of those aircraft they export while they truly produce a full on competitor and tie in customers. If anything the delay in UK weapons probably only endangers and delays Uk commitment to the overall programme if anything.
It probably also helps that JSM is for external carriage on F35B so the physical integration isn’t as hard. Also, it’s less likely to be launched in strange aerodynamic scenarios.
no rush, got all the time in the world, like every thing else its will be fine in a few more years. MOD/Government as useless as every
Its pretty clear that Meteor and SPEAR will never be cleared on the F-35. It is not in the interests of the White House, Pentagon or American MIC to clear competitor weapons. The structure of the programme means we have no meaningful recourse.
Time to stop throwing good money after bad and cease F-35 acquisitions, at least until we gain the ability to integrate weapons and generate mission information independently. Which will be never, so it will essentially mean the end of the UKs participation in the programme.
Negotiate access to the F35B source code and write the software to integrate the Meteor system. Sitting waiting for things to happen is not a great option. Another medium term option is to a purchase a squadron of Typhoons rather than the F35’s and push forward with the Tempest aircraft development.
It’s worth noting that the US also doesn’t have such access to code. They too are stuck in the LM queue. Israel has an over lay that allows it to plug in its own weapons however it comes at the cost of giving up on much of the NATO+ Eco system that makes the F35 so capable.
Maybe someone from UK MOD should call the US, pretending to be an Israeli Defence Minister. Not only will the work be done in the blink of an eye but the US taxpayer will pick up the tab.
“…and potentially to GCAP if lessons from the F-35 experience are not applied to how that programme is structured from the outset.”
It’s long been known about the limitations of what is now an archaic software approach in the F-35, it’s very sophisticated yes for when it originated but its methodology and underlying principles limit its upgradability and has become inherent to the limitations of the overall system design and the major source of its now limitations. It’s long been known therefore that a modular approach is vital to any new aircraft software design platform that separates flight control, sensor operation and weapon control because previously in a non modular set up like the F-35 code alteration to one means all code has to be re re checked thoroughly to detect unforeseen interactions between distinct functions. The more modern approach is to sandbox these so changes to one at least in theory does not effect the others (or at worst limits it) thus much reducing wider implications and the testing required given any upgrades and weapon integration in particular should be far more straightforward. That’s the promise anyway, fact is anyway more generally we are generations on from the environment in which the F-35 software was first devised and written and it’s that legacy that has so restricted the F-35’s troubled development so hopefully lessons will have been learned and the underlying structure more easily upgradable.
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Looks like the US have done what hey wanted. They have kept the best BVRAAM in the world off their aircraft, well done to everyone, you could not make this up. Typhoon will benefit from having more available.