Paris Air Show- Defense News

Posted by: Neelam Mathews

June 20, 2011

Eurofighter complete first phase of Meteor missiles tests

Eurofighter says it has completed a range of air-carriage trials for the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), which forms part of the process of integrating the missile onto the Typhoon swing-role combat aircraft. 

The first of a series of trials to ensure the safe separation of the missile across the flight envelope were carried out by Eurofighter Partner Company BAE Systems with Instrumented Production Aircraft IPA 1 on the Aberporth range, UK.

“The introduction of the Meteor missile will ensure that the Typhoon continues as the world’s most advanced swing-role combat aircraft well into the future, keeping ahead of developing air-to-air threats,” says a statement

Meteor is a ramjet powered next generation Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile system (BVRAAM), with the largest No Escape Zone of any air-to-air weapon resulting in a long stand-off range and high kill probability to ensure air superiority and pilot survivability. This is being developed on behalf of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK by MBDA.

Finmeccanica’s aeronautics division at the Le Bourget 2011 international air show (Press Release)

Alenia Aeronautica, the company that heads Finmeccanica’s aeronautics division, together with its subsidiaries and joint ventures, says it will be one of the main participants in the Paris Air Show, demonstrating the latest technology in the field of tactical transport aircraft, fighter aircraft, other special-version aircraft, unmanned and trainer aircraft, regional aircraft, aerostructures and simulation systems.

On show in the Finmeccanica static display area, for example, will be the C-27J and the Eurofighter Typhoon used by the Italian air force, the ATR 42 MP used by the Italian coastguard, the trainer aircraft produced by Alenia Aermacchi (the M-346 and M-311) and the mock-up of the Sky-Y unmanned aircraft.

The C-27J, constructed by Alenia Aeronautica, is a tactical transport aircraft that offers great versatility in terms of application, interoperability and load capacity, and is able to take off and land on short or semi-prepared runways.

The ATR 42 MP is the maritime patrol version of the ATR 42 regional transport aircraft and has been specially designed by Alenia Aeronautica. It is a highly innovative aircraft that can be used in multiple roles, such as maritime patrol (for the search and identification of surface vessels), search and rescue, the fight against drug trafficking, piracy and smuggling, assistance in the event of environmental disasters (e.g. oil or chemical spills), protection of territorial waters (e.g. fishing areas, off-shore drilling rights) and environmental monitoring.

The M-346, built by Alenia Aermacchi, has recently been purchased by the Italian and Singaporean governments and has also been selected by the UAE government. It is the most advanced trainer aircraft currently available and is the only one in the world designed to train pilots on the latest generation of high-performance military aircraft.

The Finmeccanica stand will also feature an area dedicated to Alenia SIA, a systems engineering subsidiary of Alenia Aeronautica, which will be presenting its computer-based training (CBT) system and its 3D maintenance trainer. Alenia SIA has extensive experience and expertise in the design, qualification, development, industrialisation, customisation and support of engineering services for a product’s entire life cycle.