Saab conducted the first test firing of a Diehl BGT Defence IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile from a Gripen fighter over Sweden’s Vidsel test range on 12 June, during the 6,000th test flight of a JAS39 aircraft.
Involving high-speed weapon release from a JAS39B test aircraft flying at around 2,000ft (610m), the unguided test was “a complete success”, says Saab test pilot Fredrik Müchler.
Saab will perform another unguided release of the IRIS-T and two guided firings against target drones at Vidsel later this year under a national test programme worth SKr150 million ($21.3m). These are intended to prove the missile’s operating envelope across more difficult flight conditions and at a higher load factor, says Müchler.
Also on order for Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway and Spain, the IRIS-T will replace Sweden’s current inventory of Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
Source: Flight International
