Ukrainian Gripen fighter jets will likely be equipped with long-range Meteor missiles.
The upgraded two-seat JAS-39D Gripen
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said last week that the country is discussing the possibility of transferring JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets and missiles Meteor of the Ukrainian Air Force. These long-range air-to-air missiles can currently only be installed on Gripen, Eurofighter, and Rafale fighters, although the UK is leading the way in ground testing their integration on the F-35.
The Meteor missile would be a natural addition to the armament suite for any Gripen fighter, and negotiations are underway with several exporting countries, including Ukraine,
"Saab Airspace Operations Advisor Jussi Halmetä told Defense News at the Singapore Air Show.Meteor missiles will expand Ukraine's operational capabilities by providing pilots with increased range and denying Russian aircraft freedom of movement and control over airspace.
Late last year, Ukraine and Sweden signed a letter of intent to export up to 150 Gripen fighter jets to Kyiv, although a final deal has not yet been concluded.
The MBDA Meteor is a long-range air-to-air guided missile equipped with an active radar seeker. The missile is powered by a solid-fuel ramjet engine, which maintains high speed throughout its trajectory and also increases the infrared signature of the missile attack. This 190-kilogram munition, manufactured by MBDA, first entered service with the Swedish Air Force on Gripen fighter jets in 2016. It was developed as part of a joint project between six European countries, including Sweden, under the leadership of MBDA.
Meteor air-to-air missile
The missile is equipped with a solid-fuel rocket booster and a solid-fuel ramjet motor, which can continue to propel the missile until impact, providing maneuverability during the terminal phase of its flight path. This capability increases the missile's kill zone compared to more common rocket-powered air-to-air missiles, which have a relatively long passive phase of their flight path. Saab claims the Meteor has a range of over 100 kilometers and a speed of over Mach 4 (1,300 m/s), although reference books typically list the range at around 200 kilometers.
A two-way network link allows the carrier aircraft to provide mid-course target coordinate updates or retarget the missile as needed, incorporating data from other sources. The modem can transmit missile information, such as its operational and kinematic status, and receive coordinates of multiple targets, as well as send a target acquisition notification via the seeker.
According to MBDA, the Meteor missile has three to six times the kinetic power of modern air-to-air missiles of this type. The missile is equipped with both proximity and impact fuses to maximize destructive effect and reliability.
Meteor missiles, the fruit of a joint European project, first entered service with the Swedish Air Force on JAS 39 Gripen fighters in April 2016 and officially achieved initial operational capability (IOC) in July 2016. They are also installed on fighters of the French Air Force and Aerospace Force, on Dassault Rafale fighters of the Navy, and on Eurofighter Typhoons of the Royal Air Force, German Air Force, Italian Air Force, and Spanish Air Force. Meteor missiles are also intended for use on British and Italian F-35 Lightning II fighters and have been exported to various Rafale, Typhoon, and Gripen customers.
The Meteor missile was developed under the Royal Air Force's Air Staff Operational Specification (SR(A)1239) for the Future Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (FMRAAM) to replace the Royal Air Force's Skyflash missiles. As the primary air-to-air weapon of the Eurofighter, the missile was intended to be used against a variety of aerial targets, including unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.
Although detailed performance requirements were not publicly released, the new missile was expected to have intercept ranges nearly double those of the then-advanced AMRAAM medium-range missile. The missile's external geometry would be constrained by the need for compatibility with the Eurofighter's semi-recessed, ventral launchers developed for AMRAAM. Key features of the requirements included "launch stealth, improved kinematics that would provide the missile with sufficient energy to pursue and destroy a highly maneuverable target, reliable countermeasures, and the ability for the launch aircraft to engage and disengage at the first opportunity, thereby increasing aircraft survivability."
These requirements were largely determined by the perceived threat posed by upgraded versions of the Russian Su-27 Flanker, armed with extended-range R-77 missiles. Although the tender only mentioned the United Kingdom and its needs, it was already clear that the winner would effectively supply weapons to all four Eurofighter partner countries.
BAE Systems, Saab Missiles, and GEC-Marconi proposed the S225X, a ramjet-powered variant of the Skyflash they had been working on since the early 1980s. Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) proposed the A3M, the French company Matra proposed a modified MICA, and Hughes offered an improved AIM-120. Since the merger of the guided missile divisions of British Aerospace and Matra (now MBDA) was imminent, it was predictable that they would collaborate. Kentron also considered offering a missile.
All design proposals included ramjet engines, at least as an option. All proposals had active radar seekers, with the exception of the Skyflash S225X variant, which was semi-active. However, in the long term, the MICA 4A seeker operating in the K-band (12–20 GHz) was envisioned. Hughes proposed its AIM-120 seeker, a monopulse radar seeker operating in the I-band (8–10 GHz).
DASA proposed the most advanced seeker at the time, designed for active operation in the K-band (30–40 GHz). This was intended to eliminate burnout caused by enemy electronic warfare systems and serve as a proximity fuse for a directional rod warhead. In the long term, the seeker was also intended to have passive reception capability in the X-band (8–12 GHz).
Although dual seekers were not mandatory, the Defense Research Agency (DRA) highly valued their advantages. Therefore, other suppliers attempted to combine infrared seekers with radar seekers in their designs. To counter US pressure, in 1996, all European companies joined forces, forming a consortium to use MICA's 4A seeker.
Matra and LFK (formerly DASA, now MBDA) were already collaborating, as were BAE Dynamics, Saab, GEC-Marconi, and the Italian company Alenia. By agreeing on a concept, the two BAE-led consortiums were able to isolate Hughes. Now the goal was to advance this weapons, dubbed "Meteor", among all Eurofighter partner nations, as well as encouraging its use on the Dassault Rafale and Saab 39.
Germany was receptive to the project but wanted a larger share. Britain demanded financial participation but refused to compromise with other countries on performance requirements, angering Germany and Sweden. These countries were also uninterested in entrusting their air-to-air weapons to the US except in cases of extreme necessity.
If the UK had chosen the AMRAAM variant, Germany, Italy, and Sweden would have developed a European missile based on the A3M. Due to competition between these countries with their Eurofighters and the US with their fighters, they did not want to be (in their words) "serfs" of the US with regard to their most important air-to-air weapon.
The situation escalated when the US State Department blocked the sale of Gripen aircraft to South Africa because they were powered by General Electric engines. Although the embargo was lifted in March 1998, it was replaced by offers for F-16s and F/A-18s. When Sweden wanted to sell JAS 39s to Finland, the US again blocked the deal over the proposed AIM-120 missiles, forcing the Finns to purchase F-18C/Ds. Meanwhile, anonymous "American sources" were cited in US technical journals as claiming the US had a "decade-long technological advantage."
Transatlantic dialogues attempted to persuade the British to seek a British-American solution. However, the US Air Force showed no interest in a ramjet-powered weapon, fearing that the combination of the F-15C and a ramjet-powered missile could deter Congress from approving funding for the F-22.
The situation in Europe also became more complicated in early 1998: although the Meteor team agreed to use the 4A seeker for the MICA, Germany wanted to integrate an advanced Ka/X-band seeker. If the UK suddenly backed down and began collaborating with Raytheon, Germany threatened to implement the A3M jointly with Italy and Sweden, or independently. Therefore, the Federal Republic continued to fund LFK's development of the A3M. Bodenseewerk Gerätetechnik, in turn, sought to collaborate with Raytheon to install the seeker on the ramjet-powered AMRAAM missile.
By mid-1998, the situation had deteriorated to the point that Germany allocated funds for EURAAM (formerly A3M). Bayern-Chemie was to demonstrate the missile's propulsion system as part of a 24-month program. The Germans were displeased with the British attempting to dictate the program's terms through outright blackmail—extracting European funds from the program without making any compromises. Since the MICA Ku-band seeker did not meet German requirements, and no agreement was reached on this issue, development of the Ka/X-band seeker was further advanced.
In 1999, the UK faced a choice between purchasing a missile from Raytheon or the European consortium Meteor. Raytheon proposed the ERAAM, featuring a dual-pulse solid-fuel rocket motor and shorter, lower-drag wings. An upgrade to the FMRAAM standard with a ramjet engine was also an option. The ERAAM was expected to achieve 80% of the FMRAAM's range at 50% of the cost. As an added bonus, Aérospatiale was to supply the ramjet engine, based on the ASMP nuclear-guided missile's design. Royal Ordnance would supply the rocket motor, with final assembly handled by Shorts Missile Systems. Raytheon also explored an active phased array radar for the seeker but abandoned the project due to cooling issues.
The Meteor team planned to use a Bayern-Chemie ramjet engine and the 4A seeker from the Aster SAM. The German missiles (EURAAM) were to be equipped with a Ka/X-band seeker. Had the UK selected Meteor, France would have joined the program.
In October 1999, Boeing signed a contract to market Meteor in the United States. In 2000, the UK finally made a decision on the Meteor missile, but certain critical technology development milestones had to be reached, otherwise the program would be canceled. The decisive factor was the possibility that the AMRAAM's performance characteristics could outperform the Russian R-77 missile, possibly financed by China, as the Europeans speculated.
The Meteor is an unusual missile precisely because of its ramjet engine. As with the AIM-132 ASRAAM, the primary development goal was to significantly increase the missile's range (F-pole). This allows it to destroy enemy aircraft and bombers during the pre-merge phase, before they can launch their guided missiles. The underlying principle is that the first to fire has the best chance of winning an air-to-air engagement.
Another feature is the missile's ability to interact with other sources (aircraft equipped with a similar guidance system). Once launched, the aircraft no longer requires contact with the target via radar or optronic sensors; the missile can continuously receive new target data from other aircraft. Guidance from AWACS aircraft is also possible. Since new E-10 MC2As were not purchased due to prohibitive cost, this capability is only available to a limited extent.
The Meteor was arguably the most effective air-to-air missile currently in service with Western combat aircraft,
— says a report by the London-based International Institute for Security Studies, published in September 2022.Last year, Sweden purchased its third batch of Meteor missiles for Gripen aircraft. The acquisition was part of an international cooperation agreement in which MBDA, the UK subsidiary, supplies these systems.
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