Unquestionably, the weapon systems of a combat aircraft are one of the most crucial factors
determining its capability. In this regards, with its superior features, the Meteor
air-to-air missile has the potential that can change the balance in modern aerial warfare.
These days when the Second Cold War is rising, comparing the fighters with each other would be
incomplete without considering this missile. As the Weapon Detective,
we are investigating the Meteor, the next step of the air-to-air missiles' evolution.
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The Meteor is preparing to protect the airspace of the leading European countries.
Also, many Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, and Gripen users all around the world
have already ordered the missile. The others are seriously considering it.
The reason for this popularity is that the Meteor is one of the systems
that best answer to modern aerial warfare requirements.
If we take a brief look at its development process,
the Meteor was born to meet the Royal Air Force's requirement for a long-range air-to-air missile to
replace the Skyflash missile, in the early 1990s. The new missile had to have enhanced kinematics,
which will provide it with sufficient energy to chase and destroy a target
with the ability of highly agile manoeuvring in long-distance. The other requirements
were stealthy launching feature, being highly resistant against countermeasures, and "fire
and forget" ability which brings the attacking capability to multiple targets simultaneously too.
The development story of the Meteor was very similar to other European weapon system programme.
Like many other projects, the UK established various partnerships with
other European countries. These partnerships were constantly broken for economic, political
and technical reasons and were re-established. We will not mention these details in this video.
In short, at the end, the missile called Meteor has become a joint project of France, Germany,
Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. MBDA became the main contractor in the programme.
Despite all problems, an extraordinary missile emerged.
On May 9, 2006, a JAS-39 Gripen conducted the first air launch trial.
The launch was successful, but the missile failed to transition to the sustain phase of flight.
The investigation showed that there was a timing issue in the gas generator valve control unit
software. After necessary modification, the second air launch trial took place on May 20, 2006.
This time the Meteor was completely successful.
On April 28, 2015, a Rafale conducted the first guided launch trial of the missile against an
aerial target. One year later, the Meteor entered service of the Swedish Air Force.
The active radar-guided Meteor has a high explosive blast-fragmentation warhead
with a proximity/impact fuse. Its maximum effective range is over 100 kilometres. The
missile can reach the speed of over Mach 4. The Meteor has a throttleable ducted rocket engine
which is basically a combination of the ramjet and solid-fueled rocket engine. It has a length
of 3.7 metres and a diameter of 178 millimetres. The weight of the missile is 190 kilograms.
The Meteor is maintenance-free for a lifetime. During the cruise phase, the missile uses an
inertial navigation system developed based on that one used on the ASRAAM.
The missile accelerates to Mach 2 in about two seconds.
Thanks to the Meteor's two-way data link, the aircraft can update target data during
mid-course or change the target if required. It also makes receiving data from other
aircraft and command centres possible. So, the fighter in the radar range of an
early warning aircraft can turn around immediately after launching the Meteor
to avoid the enemy missile salvo. This data link enables the transmitting
of missile information such as functional and kinematic status.
Thus the pilot has the opportunity for realising if there is a problem with the first Meteor
and launching another missile. During the flight, the two-way
data link sends information about not only the missile's target also other possible targets.
This way, the pilot can better evaluate the tactical situation.
The active radar homing seeker of the Meteor was developed
based on the Active Anti-Air Seeker family of seekers that equip the MICA and Aster missiles.
Yet, it has higher turning rates, a new transmitter, and processor.
This seeker can detect the targets with a radar cross-section of smaller than 1 square meter.
The radar can work in low-probability-of-intercept mode to avoid detection by the passive radar
detection system. This feature makes the Meteor stealthier and deadlier.
A fighter can fire multiple Meteors, which have the active radar homing seeker,
against multiple targets. The throttleable ducted rocket engine
is the main reason that makes the Meteor the best in its class. It provides the missile with thrust
and mid-course acceleration to target intercept. The rocket and ramjet engines lose the thrust
significantly when their fuel amount is low. On the other hand, the throttleable ducted
rocket engine uses its supersonic exhaust to further compress air collected by ram
effect during the flight. This provides an additional working mass and highly
effective thrust for any given amount of fuel. After a manoeuvre, the Meteor can accelerate
and/or gain altitude again. Thus, by preserving its energy, the missile gains a higher hit rate.
The conventional rocket engine does not have such a feature.
MBDA claims that thanks to its throttleable ducted rocket engine, the Meteor has three
to six times the kinetic performance of current air-air missiles of its type.
A ramjet requires forward motion to feed air into the engine.
But, with its throttleable ducted rocket engine, the Meteor works even at zero forward speed.
Yes, thanks to its hybrid rocket/ramjet engine, the Meteor can reach a speed of over Mach 4.
But, in a typical scenario, the missile would cruise with the speed of between
Mach 1.5 and 2 to use its fuel efficiently. To reach long-distance, the Meteor has a design
which ensures as little drag as possible. It has only small control surfaces at the end.
Because of this design preference, the Meteor has to roll like an aircraft first
before it banks to turn. The Meteor can engage
various types of targets, such as the aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missiles.
So why was it necessary to develop a highly capable air-to-air missile like the Meteor.
Obviously, attacking a target from a long distance brings an advantage. However, there is more.
If we take a look at the past, we can see that the advantages
that each new generation of jet fighters brings comes with higher costs. For this reason,
the number of aircraft produced has decreased with each generation.
However, the expanse of the airspace of the countries has remained unchanged. In summary,
modern combat aircraft have to control wider airspace than the previous generation models.
Naturally, longer-range air-to-air missiles are needed to accomplish this task.
There is a huge leap in terms of dogfighting capabilities between the
Eastern Bloc's previous-generation and fourth-generation fighters.
This makes it more preferable for Western pilots to engage at a long distance.
For the Western air forces, training a skilful pilot costs more than the aircraft itself.
So they do not want to take unnecessary risks. The Meteor has a potential which makes the
dogfight an unnecessary risk in many cases. With its long-range, the Meteor has the ability
to deter many countries from going to war. Clearly, no realistic pilot does not want
to take the risk of being hit before he can reach the range that allows the fight back.
The JAS-39 Gripen has achieved great success in the international market
as a combat aircraft that offers high combat capability with a relatively low cost.
But we have to admit that it is not in the same league as the Eurofighter Typhoon or Rafale.
However, the JAS-39 can be at least as effective as them in long-range air combat
using the Meteor missiles. Thus, the Swedish Air Force can continue to rely on its Gripens
until the sixth-generation fighters become operational. Also, thanks to the Meteor,
the JAS-39 can maintain its title as one of the strongest competitors in the market.
During the First Cold War, the stand-off missiles were huge, and only big bombers could carry them.
So, only a few countries could have this type of weapon systems.
Today, a fighter size aircraft can carry the missiles which have a range
of over 500 kilometres. Currently, many countries have a stand-off missile arsenal.
For this reason, the long-range interception capability is becoming more crucial.
The Meteor is perfect for this job. Thanks to its superior features, the Meteor has gained
global interest in a short time. Many Eurofighter Typhoon,
Rafale, and Gripen users have either ordered it or announced that they intend to order it. So,
a new profitable market has opened for the European partners of the missile.
The Meteor has a suitable size to be carried by the F-35's internal weapon bay. Integration of
the missile to this aircraft is still ongoing. After the completion of these studies,
it would not be a surprise that many F-35 users may also prefer the Meteor.
The Meteor is also on the agenda of some countries that are working on the indigenous
new-generation combat aircraft programmes. For example, in 2018, South Korea’s
arms acquisition agency unveiled the preliminary design of the KF-X fighter.
During the presentation, it was notable that the aircraft is carrying the Meteor.
The Meteor also offers its European partners other opportunities in the market. For example,
on July 17, 2014, MBDA UK agreed to research a Meteor-derived missile with Japan jointly.
This programme called Joint New Air-to-Air Missile combines the
active electronically scanned array seeker of the Japanese AAM-4B missile with the Meteor.
Because the AAM-4B is too large to be carried in its F-35's internal weapon bay the Japan
Air Self-Defense Force needs this new missile. According to our analysis, the Meteor will change
the game. It is not a prophecy to say that it will pave to way for many new long-range
air-to-air missile development programmes all around the world. And these new missiles will
be different from current ones. They will have the throttleable ducted rocket engine.
In this regard, the Meteor is the new milestone of the air-to-air missiles' evolution.
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