Saudi Arabia purchases Meteor missiles

Saudi Arabia has signed the first export contract of the Meteor air to air missile with manufacturer MBDA, for an estimated £650M, according to French newspaper La Tribune.

Meteor missiles will be fitted on the Saudi Typhoon fleet.

The Meteor was initially developed by the UK, though Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Sweden joined the project shortly at a later stage. The missiles are designed for use aboard the Eurofighter Typhoon and mature versions of the Swedish Gripen.

According to MBDA:

“Meteor is the next generation Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile system (BVRAAM) that will
totally revolutionise air-to-air combat in the 21st Century. The weapon brings together six nations
with a common requirement to defeat the threat of today as well as the emerging threats of the
future.

Guided by an advanced active radar seeker, Meteor provides all weather capability to engage a
wide variety of targets from agile fast jets to small UAV and cruise missiles. Designed to meet the
most stringent requirements to operate in severe clutter and future countermeasure
environments, the weapon is also equipped with a two-way data link communication. Aimed at
meeting the needs of a network centric environment, Meteor can be operated using third party
targeting and third party target engagement, enabling the pilot of tomorrow to have the most
flexible weapon system.”