The Swedish connection

It was back in September 2010 that Sweden elected to integrate the Meteor ramjet-powered missile with the Gripen, allocating the appropriate funds—as yet undisclosed—and finalizing contractual paperwork.

As well as Sweden becoming the first nation with an operational Meteor capability, it was important that the same option be made available to Gripen export customers. Foreign countries that have so far signed up for the Swedish multi-role fighter include Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa and Thailand.

In its initial application on the Swedish air force Gripen, the Meteor comes as part of the Materiel System 20 update. MS20 is due to enter service in 2015, at which point the Swedish air force and the Gripen will be the first air arm and the first platform with fully operational Meteors.

Sweden, and local fighter-maker Saab, have ensured that they play a central role in the Meteor’s fortunes. In doing so, they have established a significant lead in the air-dominance race. While both China and Russia have also been working on ramjet-powered active-radar-guided missiles, the Meteor looks like it will beat all of its rivals into service.

The ramjet powerplant means that the Meteor is an air-breathing air-to-air munition—the first to enter service. Thanks to its efficient ramjet motor, the Meteor is a true very-long-range missile, a class that, since the retirement of the Phoenix-and-F-14 combination, is entirely absent from the U.S. military.

In air-to-air missile combat, it’s not just the sheer reach of a missile that’s critical. Equally important is the end-game performance—the ability of a missile to muster up enough energy at the end of its flightpath to battle a maneuvering target that is doing all it can to shake off the homing missile.

“No-escape zone” is the term for the area in which an enemy aircraft will not be able to use pure agility to evade a missile.

According to the manufacturer, in a head-on engagement the Meteor provides a no-escape zone three times greater than that of a conventionally powered missile. With the Meteor launched in pursuit of a target—a tail-chase engagement—the Meteor is five times as lethal as a conventional equivalent such as the American AMRAAM.

Unlike a normal rocket motor, a ramjet can throttle for more or less power. The Meteor therefore can conserve its precious energy until the last moment, rather than exhausting itself in the boost or cruise phases. Instead, as it nears the target, the BVRAAM just keeps getting faster. The target aircraft doesn’t stand a chance. Or so the theory goes.

While the ramjet engine ensures improved approach speed, range and agility, especially in the most important final phase of target engagement, an on-board datalink adds another string to the Meteor’s bow. Using the datalink means that target information updates while the missile is already streaking towards its quarry.

Re-targeting data can even come from a third party—i.e., from a platform other than the launch aircraft. A two-way datalink only became available on the latest AIM-120D model of America’s AMRAAM.

Missile manufacturers are notoriously coy when it comes to releasing details of their products’ performance. What little MBDA has said regarding Meteor indicates a range significantly greater than 62 miles and sustained speeds of at least Mach 4.

By contrast, in its official fact sheet the U.S. Air Force attributes the early-model AIM-120 with a range of 20-plus miles and “supersonic” speed. The AIM-120D version should extend the baseline range by around 50 percent. The actual effective ranges of both the Meteor and the AMRAAM are very likely to be well in excess of published figures.