F‑35b takes flight with European meteor missile in major test
An F-35B belonging to the US Marine Corps has commenced test flights with the long-range air-to-air missile MBDA Meteor.
According to the Royal Air Force, on 28 February 2025, an F-35B from the US Marine Corps undertook its initial test flights with the MBDA Meteor missile. To date, only a test specimen has been carried, equipped with sensors tasked with gathering environmental data necessary for further integration stages of this missile with F-35B aircraft utilised by the United Kingdom.
The flights were conducted from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, facilitated by the collaboration of the UK and US governments, alongside organisations such as Defence Equipment & Support and industrial partners MBDA and Lockheed Martin. The historic event was remarked upon by Air Commodore Al Roberts, head of the RAF's air-to-air missile division.
MBDA Meteor — a unique air-to-air missile from Europe
The MBDA Meteor missile is a European project developed with the cooperation of six countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Sweden. Its serial production began in 2003. This advanced air-to-air missile has now been integrated with Swedish Gripens, European Eurofighters, and French Rafales.
The Meteor is estimated to have a range of up to 200 kilometres. Its superiority over competitive solutions like AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles lies in improved manoeuvrability in the final phase of flight. While a typical rocket engine, such as solid-fuel, burns out a few seconds after launch and the missile then propels on momentum, the MBDA Meteor continues to have an active engine.
Original solution
The MBDA Meteor employs a small rocket engine in the initial phase to accelerate the missile to the requisite speed to activate the ramjet engine. This differs from rocket engines in that it derives the oxygen needed for the combustion reaction from the atmosphere, rather than from an oxidiser contained in the rocket fuel. This permits more combustible material to fit within the same space, thus lasting longer.
Additionally, the Meteor's engine can adjust its thrust, which, for example, allows the conservation of fuel for the final phase of the flight when the target may perform evasive manoeuvres. An active radar seeker and a two-way communication link with the aircraft locate the target, permitting corrections regarding the location of the object to be destroyed by the fragmentation warhead.
