Advanced Capabilities

Palak Gupta

The Meteor Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, which has already been integrated onto the Rafale aircraft, is widely recognised as a game changer for air combat. It is powered by a unique rocket-ramjet motor. This give the Meteor, as MBDA spokesperson explained to FORCE, “far more engine power, for much longer, than any other missile and this means it can fly faster, fly longer, and manoeuvre more than any other missile—giving Meteor the ability to chase down and destroy agile hostile fighters at even the furthest of ranges.” explained MBDA spokesperson.

MBDA’s METEOR BVR missile

To maximise its lethality, the missile is equipped with both an impact and a proximity fuse in addition to the blast fragmentation warhead. MBDA’s Meteor and Scalp cruise missile are fundamentally essential constituents of the weapons package of the 36 Rafale jets being procured by India at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. The long-range stand-off Scalp has been part of the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force and was also used in the 1991 Gulf War.

The Meteor BVR missile was developed using the technical expertise of six European nations—the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden—that operate the missile today, and according to the company, India will be the only nation in the region to use Meteor, with “none of India’s neighbours being able to rival the operational performance the Indian Air Force (IAF) will have with Meteor.”

The BVR missile is also integrated on fighter aircraft including Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and will be integrated to the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

Meteor’s network centric capability is achieved through the weapon’s datalink communication. Meteor can be operated using a third-party target data, enabling the air crew to have the most flexible weapon system.

In response to a question on Meteor’s kill probability and its two-way data link and active radar target seeker, MBDA spokesperson said that during Meteor’s flight mid-course, Rafale can provide updated target information to the missile via the datalink, after which Meteor’s advanced active radar seeker activates to track down its target in the end-game, even amid electronic jamming.

“These features, combined with the unique propulsion of Meteor’s rocket-ramjet engine are what give Meteor a no-escape zone many times higher than any other air-to-air missile,” the company added.

Enhancing Rafale’s strike capability

The Rafale can carry