Typhoon completes Meteor firing trials

BAE Systems have completed guided firing trials of a Meteor missile from a Typhoon.

The trials reportedly took place at the Ministry of Defence’s Hebrides range and saw Typhoon conduct guided Meteor firings against real air targets in pre-planned scenarios.

Meteor is an active radar guided beyond visual range air to air missile being developed by MBDA. Meteor will offer a multi-shot capability against long range manoeuvring targets in a heavy electronic countermeasures environment with range in excess of 100 km.

It is intended to equip the Eurofighter Typhoons of the Royal Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Force, Germany’s Luftwaffe, Spain’s Ejército del Aire and Italy’s Aeronautica Militare Italiana, British and Italian F-35s, France’s Dassault Rafale and the Saab JAS 39 Gripen of the Swedish Air Force.

It is understood that the trials are part of the ‘Phase 2 Enhancements’ programme, which will introduce a range of new and improved long-range attack capabilities including Meteor and Storm Shadow missiles.

Nat Makepeace, test pilot who flew the aircraft said:

“The missile separated very cleanly and guided very successfully towards its target maintaining a datalink communication between the weapon and the aircraft. This year is undoubtedly one of the most exciting years I have experienced in the development of Typhoon. We are taking to the skies with upgraded software, trialling new night vision helmet technologies, developing and expanding weapons capabilities and looking forward to flying the Captor E-scan radar – all in the space of one year.”

Meteor will be fully integrated onto Typhoon by 2017.