Eurofighter have completed the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM)

Eurofighter have completed a range of air-carriage trials for the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), which forms part of the process of integrating the missile onto the Typhoon swing-role combat aircraft.The first of a series of trials to ensure the safe separation of the missile across the flight envelope were carried out by Eurofighter Partner Company BAE Systems with Instrumented Production Aircraft IPA 1 on the Aberporth range, UK.

The introduction of the Meteor missile will ensure that the Typhoon continues as the world’s most advanced swing-role combat aircraft well into the future, keeping ahead of developing air-to-air threats.

Meteor is a ramjet powered next generation Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile system (BVRAAM), with the largest No Escape Zone of any air-to-air weapon resulting in a long stand-off range and high kill probability to ensure air superiority and pilot survivability. This is being developed on behalf of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK by MBDA.

Beyond-visual-range missile

A beyond-visual-range missile usually refers to an air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges beyond 20 nautical miles (37 km). This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or booster rocket motor and ramjet sustainer motor.In addition to the range capability, the missile must also be capable of tracking its target at this range or of acquiring the target in flight. Systems in which a mid-course correction is transmitted to the missile have been used.Early air-to-air missiles used semi-active radar guidance, that is the missile used the radiation produced by the launching aircraft to guide it to the target. The latest generation of BVR missiles use a combination of semi-active and active radar.