BAE Releases Footage of Typhoon Meteor Firing

Eurofighter partner company BAE Systems has released video footage showing the first test firing of an MBDA Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile to have been conducted from a Typhoon combat aircraft, almost six weeks after performing the milestone event in the UK.

One Meteor test round was released from the UK's Typhoon Instrumented Production Aircraft 1 over the Aberporth test range off the west Wales coast on 4 December, with the Typhoon having been flown from BAE's Warton manufacturing site and flight test facility in Lancashire for the activity.

BAE's video shows the weapon being prepared and then loaded onto the combat aircraft, with its release occurring almost 2min 30sec into the film. Neither the company or MBDA have disclosed further details, such as the missile's flight duration, but BAE has said that data gathered during the test will be used to support further such firings in the future.

The Meteor weapon is being developed under a six-nation programme to equip the combat aircraft of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The Swedish air force's Saab Gripens are expected to be the first operational aircraft to field the type, with the UK's National Audit Office having revealed last week that the ramjet-powered missile is unlikely to be available for use by Royal Air Force or other Typhoons until June 2017, due to a delay linked to the aircraft's future capability programme.