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FARNBOROUGH: Swedish air force hails Meteor missile introduction

MBDA's Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile has achieved operational status, with the Swedish air force's MS20 software-standard Saab Gripen the first to field the European weapon.
Speaking at the show, Swedish air force chief Maj Gen Mats Helgesson explained what the addition means for the nation. “The Meteor is the most lethal radar-guided air-to-air missile in operational service in the world, and we are the only operational user so far. Combined with the short-range [Diehl] IRST heat-seeking missile, we have the best air-to-air weaponry you can find in the world.
That means a lot to our air defence.”

Helgesson says that after extensive testing by Sweden's FMV defence procurement agency and the air force's Gripen operational test and evaluation unit at Linköping, "All of the new MS20 functions – including the Meteor missile – are now integrated. Version 20 is a big and comprehensive upgrade of the Gripen system, which also includes the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, full implementation of Link 16 and with the upgraded radar these are all important advances for the Gripen.”

While Meteor is currently in the initial operational clearance phase, the missile is now fully integrated with the Swedish fighter, leaving the air force to concentrate on practising and developing new tactics and determining how best to use it from an operational perspective. The weapon is expected to achieve full operating capability with the Gripen late next year.

The Swedish air force has since 1 January had six Gripen squadrons on quick reaction alert (QRA), including two previously dedicated to its F7 Wing at Såtenäs air base for training.
Speaking at a roll-out event for the service's future Gripen E last month, Helgesson said: “we now use all our fighter squadrons to rotate the QRA, at Ronneby, Luleå-Kallax and Såtenäs, as well as reserve bases at Upsalla and Visby.” He would not be drawn on whether Meteor was yet being used in this capacity.

The Meteor has been developed by six nations: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. In addition to the Swedish air force's Gripens, the weapon will also arm the Dassault Rafale for France and Eurofighter Typhoons for Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

“Meteor is the best example of Europe doing things together," says Saab chief executive Håkan Buskhe. "It’s a big leap forward in these rather newer [more hostile] times, and allows us not only to defend our nations better, but also at an affordable cost.”

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Ukrainian missile for MiG-29 Polish

Poland needs to complete its range of air-to-air missile for the maintenance of its fleet of MiG-29 type of combat "Fulcrum" to 2025. To do this, Warsaw has ordered the variant of the missile R-27R1 manufactured in Ukraine.

Until this version of the missile came from a factory in Russia, but the political situation requires Poland to provide in the second country that manufactures this type of missile. The variant is controlled by Poland R-27R1 with a semi-active radar homing, produced by Ukrainian society SpetsTechnoExport state-owned.

The R-27 missile:

The R-27 missile (AA10 "Alamo" NATO code) entered service in 1985 to equip the MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. It is manufactured in Russia and Ukraine. He is able to engage targets both long distance and in close combat under high load factors. It can intercept moving targets in several directions, supporting up to 8 g lateral acceleration and can be fired in any weather conditions.

It has an aerodynamic configuration plans "ducks" and has 4 aerodynamic surfaces arranged in a cruciform arrangement, the middle of the fuselage. These control surfaces, form a butterfly, allow to use the same surfaces to control both pitch and yaw of the missile, while providing an important roll stability. Each has an independent hydraulic circuit, and a hydraulic accumulator provides a consistent high hydraulic pressure. The "duck" Plans are mounted forward of the rudder.

This missile is manufactured in 4 different versions: R-27 infra-Fouge guide, R-27R guided by semi-active radar, R-27P passive radar and R-27A guided by active radar.

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‘Swedish Air Force most capable combat force northern Europe’

Since 11 July the Swedish Air Force has reaffirmed its dominant position as the most capable combat force of Northern Europe. Reaching Initial Operational Capability with the indigenous SAAB JAS 39C/D Gripen MS20 armed with Meteor outclasses – according to experts and Airheadsfly.com – currently all other nations in the greater Baltic Sea area – apart from Russia.

At the moment the Gripen is the only combat aircraft in the world flying the new MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM). Moreover the MS20 firmware update of the JAS 39´s enhances the technological status of the Gripen even further.

Armed with 88 operational Gripen C/Ds – with many being fully updated and Meteor-ready relatively soon – the Flygvapnet keeps the F-16 equipped air arms of Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland; the F/A-18 equipped Finnish Air Force; and the Eurofighter EF2000 / Tornado equipped Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force in its rear-view mirror.

A Czech Gripen during Lion Effort 2015 (Image © Martin Král)

Czech Air Force
NATO allies flying the Gripen jet take the new capabilities too, with the Czech Air Force jumping to get its 14 Gripen jets to MS20 standard as well. Apart from better missions systems the MS20 gives Gripen operators more options when it comes to air-to-air, air-to-surface and ISTAR (information, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance).

Meteor BVRAAM
The MBDA Meteor is the most significant new weapon system in the MS20 configuration. The ramjet-powered BVRAAM is probably the most advanced air-to-air weapon currently deployed it the West. It has a range of 63 miles (100 km), with MBDA boasting a “no escape zone” of about 40 miles (60 km) – three times more than any similar missile of today.

Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow 2016 on Monday Major General Mats Helgesson, Chief-of-Staff of the Swedish Air Force, could not hide his pride.

“After extensive testing by Swedish Defence Materiel Organisation and the Gripen Operational Test and Evaluation unit, all of the new MS20 functions including the Meteor missile are now fully integrated with Gripen. The Swedish Air Force is now in its Initial Operational Capability phase with the Meteor. The Meteor missile is currently the most lethal radar-guided missile in operational service, and the Swedish Air Force is the only operational user so far.”

Rafales
Probably the Dassault Rafales of the French Air Force will be next flying the Meteor operational. After that the Eurofighter Typhoons of the Royal Air Force and the air arms of Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Italy will follow. The RAF and Aeronautica Militare Italiana plan to field the Meteor as well on their future Lockheed Martin F-35s; while Rafales of the Egyptian and Qatar Emiri Air Force will likely use it as well.

Air-to-ground Gripen
Back to Sweden, where the MS20 update of the Gripen also enables the jets to fly newer air-to-ground weapons, like the Boeing GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb for a precision strike. Equipped with four launchers of four SDBs each, a single Gripen carry 16 of these into combat while retaining its counter-air weapons. The new Gripen E, which was rolled out earlier this Spring at SAAB in Linköping, will even have a bigger carry-load.

ISTAR and nuclear Gripen
New ISTAR capabilities on the Gripen C/D MS20 include a modified recon pod providing infra-red sensors and real-time display of images in the cockpit, plus increased data recording.
The Link 16 datalink has been improved so that fighters and other units can more quickly exchange information with each other – making the force flying the Gripen in theory more effective against its opponent – which will come of very handy in the Close Air Support role.
The Gripen MS20 is also fully operational now when having to fly in zones where chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons (CBRN) have been used.

Spearhead
The new SAAB JAS 39C/D Gripen MS20 armed with its new weapons will for some time to come make the Swedish Air Force the spearhead of technological advantage in the greater Baltic Sea area – handy for a country which is the centre of it from a geographical and even military/political perspective – having a full flirt with NATO and questionable meetings with the Russian Air Force.

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