Article Posted on : - May 05, 2015

Meteor BVRAAM being test fired from the Rafale fighter jet. A French DGA photo

PARIS (BNS): The French Ministry of Defence along with MBDA and Dassault Aviation has successfully conducted the first guided test firing of the Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) from the Rafale fighter aircraft.

The missile test was conducted on 28th April from French DGA's Cazaux Flight Test Centre near Bordeaux, South West France against an aerial target, MBDA announced.

Following on from earlier missile separation trials carried out in 2013 and 2014, the latest test marks an important milestone in the integration of Meteor onto the Rafale in line with the development of the aircraft in its next F3-R standard, it said.

With a throttleable ramjet motor and 'fire and forget' firing mode, Meteor is intended for very long beyond visual range (BVR) air defence operations.

Once deployed on-board the new Rafale F3 fighters featuring the RBE2 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the missile would be able to intercept targets at very long range, thereby complementing the currently deployed MICA missile used at shorter ranges for combat and self-defence roles.

The first Meteor missiles will be delivered by 2018 to equip the Rafales of the French Air Force and Navy.