MBDA’s Meteor completes first F-35B test flight

MBDA’s Meteor missile has undergone its first test flights on a US Marine Corps F-35B aircraft, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) has announced.

The missile was flown to gather data as part of an ongoing campaign to integrate the UK weapon onto its F-35 aircraft and marked a core “milestone” in the programme, the RAF said. An initial contract worth £41 million ($US51 million) contract was awarded in 2017 to integrate the missile onto the platform.

MBDA’s Meteor missile is a beyond visual range air-to-air missile and is currently carried and operated by the Typhoon, the other combat multi-role aircraft flown by the RAF.

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In 2019, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and MBDA collaborated to upgrade the UK’s F-35Bs. In 2021, MBDA and BAE Systems were awarded additional funding to complete the integration.

The Ministry of Defence has previously stated that the Meteor missile would be fully operational and integrated onto UK’s F-35Bs by the end of the decade.

Air Commodore Al Roberts, head of air-to-air missiles, RAF, said: “This milestone is a testament to the effective collaboration between the multinational governmental and industrial partnerships that we have in place. Inclusion of Meteor on 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.”

As of the end of 2024, the UK had 37 F-35B aircraft delivered. Lockheed Martin anticipated that 48 aircraft from the UK’s first ordered batch would be delivered by the end of 2025.

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