The first successful tests of the Meteor air-to-air missile installed on the F-35B fighter took place. During the tests, the missile was placed in the inner compartment of the F-35B, after which the aircraft flew with it.
But it was not the Meteor missile itself that was installed, but its mass-sized copy, designed to collect environmental data, as part of a program to integrate it on the F-35B.
This is where the problem arises, the integration of these missiles is possible only on upgraded F-35Bs to the Block 4 level, with which there are some difficulties. One of the problems is the delays in the intermediate update of the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) software and hardware, without which it is impossible to upgrade to Block 4, it was supposed to be ready in April 2023, but the delivery of aircraft with this update began only in 2024, and also on a half scale than planned.
Another problem is the Block 4 modification itself. Initially, it was planned that 66 new capabilities would be added in this modification, and the deployment of this program in 2026. But over time, appetites have grown and now as many as 80 new features are planned, and the rollout of the program will not begin until 2029 at the earliest.
In 2022, the UK planned to complete the integration of Meteor missiles no earlier than 2027, but given the delays in the Block 4 program, these missiles should not be expected on F-35B fighters UK earlier than in 2029.
Meteor is a long-range air-to-air missile, namely up to 200 km. This range is achieved by using a solid-propellant ramjet engine. This technology is not unique, in particular, the Soviet 3M9 had a similar solution for the Kub air defense system. This allows you to make solid fuels without oxidizer, or with a smaller fraction of it, because oxygen is taken from the air.
It has a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 25 kg. The total weight of the rocket is 190 kg. The maximum speed is about 4 M (4900 km/h). For guidance, the Meteor is equipped with its own autonomous radar station, which makes it possible to use it according to the “shoot and forget” scheme.
Currently, of the missiles of this type, the F-35 is equipped with the AIM-120D, it has the same maximum speed, but uses a conventional solid-propellant jet engine that runs for a shorter period of time compared to the Meteor, which gives the AIM-120D a shorter range of 20 km (namely 180 km) than the Meteor.
Therefore, the integration of Meteor missiles into British F-35Bs should significantly increase their combat capabilities, but this will happen no earlier than in 2029, and not as planned in 2027.
