What do we know about NATO & # 39; s “best in the world” aircraft missile – the Su-57 killer?

The German Air Force has conducted flight tests of its latest air-class missile. air & # 39; & nbsp; Meteor. Based on their results, the military decided that the ammunition was ready to be incorporated into the fighters & nbsp; Eurofighter Typhoon & nbsp; and to a number of & nbsp; other combatants serving in NATO countries. According to experts, the new ammunition is now the best in its class and will be effective against fifth generation aircraft, including the Russian Su-57.

In June, the Bundeswehr Air Force carried out initial tests of the & nbsp; Typhoon & nbsp; with missiles & nbsp; Meteor. Two Eurofighter Typhoon planes participated and they did not fire live ammunition. Based on the results of the exercises, the German Army decided that & nbsp; Meteor & nbsp; is ready to integrate with all hunters of this type, except their old models & nbsp; Slice-4. The next step will be final and involves filming.

Now the Germans Typhoon & nbsp; are armed with air-class guided missiles. air & nbsp; AIM-120 & nbsp; AMRAAM & nbsp; with a range of up to 75 kilometers and missiles & nbsp; IRIS-T & nbsp; of the same class, but with a range of 25 kilometers. & nbsp; In the near future they will be replaced by a long-range guided missile & laquo; air & nbsp; air & # 39; MBDA Meteor, which surpasses its predecessors in all respects. & Nbsp;

MBDA Meteor rocket. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Who created it?

To create the missile & nbsp; Meteor & nbsp; the European company MBDA (Matra BAE Dynamics Alenia) was specially created, which brought together German, British, Italian, French, Spanish and Swedish developers and manufacturers of tactical missile weapons (BAE, Saab Bofors Dynamics, Bayern- Chemie Protac, Inmize, TDW, LiteF GmbH). The companies embarked on an ambitious project to create the 'best in the world' aircraft missile in 2001. Rocket testing began in 2006. And they lasted until 2013, during the testing process, The intervention of designers was periodically required in order not only to eliminate errors, but also to increase Meteor's combat capabilities.

Features

The result is an out of range missile that is today the best in its class. Range of missiles & mdash; 200 kilometers, speed & mdash; more than 4 swings, and it weighs about 180 kilograms. The allowed range of target overloads is & mdash; 11g. Length & mdash; 3.7 meters, diameter & mdash; 180 mm, wingspan and mdash; 400 mm, plumage & mdash; 630 millimeters. The cost of a rocket is around 1 million euros.

How it works

An important advantage of this rocket is that it, the only one of all aircraft missiles, uses a solid rocket jet engine that operates throughout the flight. In this regard, even after two hundred kilometers of flight, the Meteor maintains its declared Mach 4 speed. In addition, on the final flight path, the rocket has the same dynamic capabilities as at the start of flight. This is why the Meteor, even at its maximum range, is able to intercept maneuvering targets with overloads of up to 11g. That is, the rocket is capable of hitting any fighter at a range of 200 km, including the super-maneuverable fifth generation, capable of performing anti-missile maneuvers. All other long-range missiles & mdash; both Russian and American & mdash; they are not capable of it.

Who will be armed?

The first to be armed with the Meteor rocket in 2016 were the modernized Swedish fighters JAS-39C/D Gripen. Two years later, the French began installing the Euro-missile on their Dassault Rafale fighter. With this fighter, Meteor began to be introduced into the air forces of the countries in which it is in service. Germany, after successful tests, plans to accept these missiles in the near future. In 2024, the British Air Force intends to equip its fighters based on F-35B vertical takeoff and short landing aircraft carriers, purchased in the USA for its aircraft carriers.

Russian analogue

The Russian missile could become an analogue of Meteor; K-77PD. In 2012 Ko Vympel completed the R&D work on the creation of a “ produced 180PD '' rocket, which received a ramjet, which increased the range to 192 km. Like Meteor, the Russian missile received & nbsp; an active radar seeker with an array of active phased antennas, which greatly increases the noise immunity of the seeker, and also ensures the interception of any aerodynamic target at long range.

The missile was in a high degree of readiness, and a pilot batch of missiles was being prepared to be delivered to the military for a test operation. However, the project was closed due to the high final price of the product (the cost of the Russian missile is unknown). And they decided to focus on developing a cheaper, simpler K-77 missile ('produced 180').

Источник aif.ru

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