French Navy Rafale M Fires MBDA METEOR BVRAAM for the 1st Time

French Navy Rafale M Fires MBDA METEOR BVRAAM for the 1st Time
French Ministry of the Armed Forces picture.
The French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced that a French Navy (Marine Nationale) Rafale M fighter fired a METEOR air to air missile for the first time on 13 February 2019.
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A French Air Force Rafale fired a METEOR beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) the same day as well. The test which took place at a firing and test range in Southern France involved experts from the defense procurement agency (DGA), the French Navy Naval Aviation Practical Experimentation Center (centre d’expérimentations pratiques de l’aéronautique navale – CEPA 10) and its Air Force equivalent.

The French Navy fighter used for the test was highly likely the (for now unique) Rafale M F-3R aircraft which was delivered in December 2018. F-3R is the latest standard of the Rafale, bringing a number of new capabilities including the integration of the METEOR missile.

French Navy Rafale M Fires MBDA METEOR BVRAAM for the 1st Time
French Ministry of the Armed Forces picture.

According to MBDA (its designer and producer), METEOR is the next generation of Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) system designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat in the 21st Century. The weapon brings together six nations with a common need to defeat the threats of today as well as the future emerging ones.

Guided by an advanced active radar seeker, Meteor provides all weather capability to engage a wide variety of targets from agile fast jets to small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and cruise missiles. Meteor offers a multi-shot capability against long range maneuvering targets in a heavy electronic countermeasures (ECM) environment with range well in excess of 100 kilometres (62 mi).

The weapon is also equipped with data link communication. Aimed at meeting the needs of a network centric environment, Meteor can be operated using third party data, enabling the Meteor user – the pilot – to have the most flexible weapon system.

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