MBDA,
The MBDA-led Meteor team has recently achieved further successes in the development of the six-nation air dominance missile. Two major events were the successful Control and Dispersion (CD) firing on the 22nd May and the Customer agreement that the Seeker Air Carry and Hardware in the Loop trials demonstrates performance in clutter and Electronic Counter Measures.
Over the past year the Meteor missile has undergone extensive flight trials. Several missile firings, air carry trials of the seeker in various conditions with wide ranging ground trials covering Hardware in the Loop testing to Reliability Growth trials have been completed successfully.
This has enabled key aspects of the programme to be demonstrated:
1. Flight demonstration of motor boost to sustain transition and subsequent sustain motor operation using the air-breathing ramjet propulsion system.
2. Control of the asymmetric airframe through flight trials and operation with the novel missile control algorithms.
3. Air carriage demonstration of the effectiveness of the missile/aircraft transfer alignment process. This process ensures that the missile knows where it is at launch.
4. Extensive air carry and ground trials in 2006/7 demonstrating the key missile Electronic Counter Measures performance and seeker performance in clutter.
More recently on 22nd May 2007, a Control & Dispersion firing of METEOR was conducted from a Saab Gripen aircraft at the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Hebrides missile firing range. This was the first firing of METEOR in the UK and was conducted to test the performance of the missile’s integrated boost, ramjet sustain motor and control systems during high altitude supersonic launch. The missile was tested in extended free flight and carried out extensive manoeuvres that further proved the advanced bank while turn control algorithms developed for this high performance weapon.
Meteor represents Europe’s next generation Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) and will replace the AMRAAM AIM-120 series of missiles. Entry into service is planned for 2013 from which point Meteor will provide the air forces of the six partner nations with a step-change in capability. Meteor will have over three times the performance of current medium range weapons giving the programme partners a quantum leap in combat capability and air dominance.
The missile features a unique, solid fuel throttleable ducted rocket, often referred to as a Ramjet, as the main propulsion system. This allows the missile to maintain a high speed all the way to the target making it impossible for the target to escape. Meteor’s high speed and increased range will ensure that the launch aircraft can remain safe from interception.
MBDA has also been providing future Meteor operators with experience of the missile’s performance through the use of its FOX aircraft and missile simulation system. This has enabled aircrew to test future combat scenarios in a real-time environment and develop operational tactics.
Commenting on these events MBDA’s new CEO, Antoine Bouvier, said: “Meteor is a real-time success story for MBDA in leading complex multinational missile programmes. Now over four years into a demanding development programme MBDA has demonstrated, through the successful firing programme and the accomplishment of these major performance achievements, the technical excellence and timely programme management necessary to deliver Meteor and missile systems of the future. MBDA is now looking forward to the production contracts from the European partner nations as well as export opportunities around the world”.
These latest successes follow on from last year’s successful Air Launched Demonstrator firings and also recent Data Gathering and Electronic Protection Measure (EPM) data gathering trials in both Sweden and the UK. Additionally, development of Meteor with the candidate aircraft has continued with the main development firings continuing with Gripen; on Eurofighter Typhoon completion of subscale wind tunnel testing and the first Environmental Data Gathering (EDG) flights and on Rafale successful undertaking of eject launch jettison trials.
Background Information
METEOR is being developed to meet the requirements of six European nations for a next generation Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) system. Designed with the operational capability to dominate the air battlespace, Meteor will excel in all future combat scenarios and be capable of being integrated on Europe’s major platforms, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and Rafale. It also has the potential to enhance to the air-to-air capability of the next generation combat platform, the F-35 Lightning II.
The METEOR programme sees France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK joining together to provide access to the best 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 the missile and provides production options to meet 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.
The METEOR programme has been moving ahead at some pace since contract signature. During 2003, the missile completed its Preliminary Design Review and a new wingless configuration for the design was introduced. Two major subcontracts were placed in the first half of 2003, one with Thales for the development and initial production of the seeker system and the other with Bayern Chemie / Protac for the development, first lot production and integrated logistics for METEOR’s ramjet propulsion subsystem. In September 2003 a trial fit of a representative METEOR missile to a Eurofighter Typhoon was successfully completed as was a similar fit to a Gripen and Rafale in 2004. In late 2004 a second round of aerodynamic wind tunnel trials took place confirming the missile’s design integrity.
On 9th May, 20th June and 5th September 2006, METEOR was successfully fired from a Gripen aircraft as part of the Air-Launched Demonstration (ALD) programme at the FMV missile test range at Vidsel in northern Sweden. The three successful firings gathered data on the missile’s performance and its characteristics during launch and free flight.
During the ALD programme, the last in a series of “free jet” wind tunnel tests was successfully completed in June 2006 at the ONERA supersonic wind tunnel facility in Modane, France. These trials examined the performance of the missile’s ramjet propulsion system in free flight. Later in 2006 METEOR Seeker Data Gathering was completed in the skies over Linkoping in Sweden to gather data for the development of the seeker. This was followed shortly afterwards by the first phase of Electronic Protection Measure (EPM) flight trials at Aberporth in the UK to gather data to further develop the missile’s Electronic Counter Measures capabilities. Reliability Growth Testing has also commenced at INDRA’s facility in Spain.
In addition to the METEOR development activities, Environmental Data Gathering (EDG) flights to provide aircraft environmental data for missile design have been completed on the Gripen and Rafale aircraft and have now commenced on the Eurofighter Typhoon. These trials have been conducted to examine the environment the missile will experience during air carriage as well as the aircraft’s handling characteristics. Catapult take-off and landings were also performed from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in December 2005 which further served to confirm METEOR’s handling characteristics.
MBDA leads the Meteor programme team with key partners including Saab Bofors Dynamics of Sweden and INMIZE of Spain.
With an annual turnover exceeding EUR 3 billion, a forward order book of over EUR 13 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%).
