Saab Gripen E Test Fires Large No Escape Zone Ramjet Meteor Missile, F-35 Lightning Next

The latest to announce some progress on this front are the Swedes from Saab. The company said this week one of its Gripen E fighter aircraft successfully fired a Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) at a test target, which was successfully destroyed.

The test took place at an undisclosed time over the Vidsel test range in northern Sweden, and called for the most modern version of the Gripen to release the missile from an altitude of 16,500 feet (5,000 meters).

The Meteor is described as one of “Europe’s most successful defense collaboration.” Its development involved companies from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, with the main contractor being the British MBDA.

The missile is ramjet-powered, and thanks to that it provides “the largest No Escape Zone of any air-to-air missile system, several times greater than current MRAAMs,” according to its makers.

The thing is guided by an active radar seeker, works in all weather, and can be equipped with both impact and proximity fuses. Also capable of sporting a blast fragmentation warhead, it is effective against anything from fighter aircraft to UAVs and cruise missiles.

The missile is already in service with the Air Forces of Sweden, and it’s now making its way into the arsenal of other partner nations in the program. Now that this first major test with the Gripen has been passed, it will soon be deployed on the F-35 Lightning II as well.

“It feels very good that we have now completed the first test firing with Meteor from Gripen E. It is a very important milestone both for the program and for Saab. It shows that the weapon capability of Gripen is at the absolute forefront,” said in a statement Mikael Olsson, Head of Flight Test & Verification, Saab.