The long-delayed process of integrating MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile with the Lockheed Martin F-35 has finally begun for the UK.
A US Marine Corps-operated F-35B recently performed a first flight-test carrying an inert example of the weapon, “to gather environmental data as part of the campaign to integrate UK weapons onto F-35”, the Royal Air Force (RAF) says.
Images released by the service show a Meteor housed within one of the F-35B’s internal weapons bays, alongside an MBDA ASRAAM short-range missile. The short take-off and vertical landing aircraft conducted the activity from the US Naval Air Systems Command’s NAS Patuxent River site in Maryland.
The RAF on 28 February described the recent flight as “being progress towards enabling Meteor’s capability on F-35”, but does not indicate when the combination are expected to be ready for operational use.
The ramjet-powered Meteor is already carried by the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoons. The UK had wanted to see the long-range weapon cleared with the F-35 during the US programme’s Block 3 activity, but it was not included. That delay also has affected the planned addition of MBDA’s Spear air-to-surface missile.
Last October, Mike Shoemaker, Lockheed’s vice-president, F-35 customer programmes, told FlightGlobal that weapons integration decisions are made by the US F-35 Joint Program Office in agreement with its international partners, and that priorities for the stealth fighter’s Block 4 standard were still being assessed.
“While the UK is leading the integration campaign for F-35B, Italy is sponsoring integration onto the F-35A model, allowing both aircraft types to take advantage of Meteor’s inclusion,” the RAF notes.
“Inclusion of Meteor onto the Lightning II will bring this formidable air combat capability to the UK and to the burgeoning F-35 community, significantly enhancing security among allies,” says Air Commodore Al Roberts, the RAF’s head of air-to-air missiles.
