Paul Phelan/CAIRNS
Matra BAe Dynamics has beaten competition from Rafael and Raytheon to have its Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) selected by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as its successor to the AIM-9 Sidewinder. The deal secures the first export order for the ASRAAM.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) named Matra BAe Dynamics as the preferred bidder for its AIM-9 replacement on 19 February. The ASRAAMs will be deployed on the RAAF's 56 Boeing F/A-18As and 15 F/A-18Bs.
The contract is the first phase of a two-phase project to re-equip the air force with within and beyond visual range range air to air weapons.
Selection of the ASRAAM closes the first part of the competition, beating Rafael's proposed improved variant of the Python-4, and the US Navy's offer of the Raytheon AIM-9X in a foreign military sales deal.
The Sidewinder replacement request for tender (RFT) sought an agile, high off-boresight, passive infra-red guided missile with reprogrammable infra-red countermeasures, able to be cued by a helmet mounted sighting system.
Australian defence minister Ian McLachlan is expected to announce shortly that the beyond visual range component will be awarded to the only contender, Raytheon, offering its AIM-120 AMRAAM. The RAAF's entire fleet of 71 F/A-18s will be equipped with the new weapon, and the final value of the contract will be determined by which of three option quantities in the RFTs is selected by the defence department in contract negotiations.
That decision will be based on threat analyses as well as the deployment and conflict duration scenarios, which the ADF is not prepared to disclose.
First deliveries of the ASRAAM are expected in the second half of 1998 and extend to around the end of 2000. A two-year support period will follow, with an optional third year. Some of the systems integration, and all software support, operational and depot maintenance, and capability enhancements, will be carried out in Australia.
Separations and firing airworthiness certification work will be conducted on US Navy aircraft by the US Naval Air Systems Command weapons division at China Lake, California, while aircraft flying qualities evaluation will be at Patuxent River, Maryland.
The RAAF contract will mark the first integration of the ASRAAM with the F/A-18, and is likely to focus regional military attention on the weapon as Asian interest in upgrading short range missile capabilities increases.
Source: Flight International
