Meteor (missile)

Meteor
Type	Beyond visual range air-to-air missile
Service history
In service	2016-Present
Production history
Manufacturer	MBDA
Unit cost	GBP 2,000,000 (as of 2016)
Specifications
Weight	185 kg (407 lb)
Length	3.65 m (12 ft 0 in)
Diameter	0.178 m (7.0 in)
Warhead	High explosive blast-fragmentation
Detonation mechanism	Proximity/impact fuse
Engine	Throttleable ducted rocket
Operational range	300+ km(200 km No Escape Zone)
Speed	over Mach 4
Guidance system	Inertial guidance, mid-course update via datalink, terminal active radar homing
Launch platform	Eurofighter Typhoon Dassault Rafale Saab JAS 39 Gripen F-35 (Pending)

Meteor is an active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) being developed by MBDA. Meteor will offer a multi-shot capability against long range manoeuvring targets in a heavy electronic countermeasures (ECM) environment with range in excess of 100 kilometres (62 mi).

It is intended to equip the Eurofighter Typhoons of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Saudi Air Force, Germany's Luftwaffe, Spain's Ejército del Aire, Italian Air Force, British and Italian F-35s, Dassault Rafale of French Armée de l'air, Saab JAS 39 Gripen of the Swedish Air Force, Czech Air Force, Dassault Rafale of the Indian Air Force,Egyptian Air Force and Qatar Air Force.

It entered service in the Swedish air force in April 2016, with the SwAF as the first operator of the missile due to most testing having been done on the JAS-39. It officially achieved initial operating capability (IOC) with Swedish air force Gripens in July 2016, and it was announced at the Farnborough Air Show that the Czech air force would soon reach IOC as well. According to MBDA, Meteor has three to six times the kinematic performance of current air-air missiles of its type. The key to Meteor's performance is a throttleable ducted rocket (ramjet) manufactured by Bayern-Chemie of Germany.