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"The Game Chang"
Every pristine combat aircraft must perforce have modern weaponry for execution of missions. It is prudent to deduce that selection of Dassault Rafale multi-role strike aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was at least partially influenced by the platforms MBDA Meteor ActiveRadar Homing (ARH) Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) with its 80+ nautical miles range to provide an ultra-long range interception capability against fighter-sized targets, critical in attaining "first look-first shoot-first kill" capability. Besides fulfilling the interceptor role for "outer-air battles", the IAF is faced with a proliferation of BVRAAMs in its 'neighbourhood' including Raytheon AIM12005 variant of AMRAAM in Pakistan Air Force (PAF) service. It is opined that IAF will aspire for the Meteor BVRAAM to arm a significant proportion of its fleet additionally including the Sukhoi Su30MKI and Tejas LCA.
A 3.65-metre long, stealthy, low drag, lightweight (185-kg) BVRAAM design from MBDA's stable, the 80+ nautical miles ranged Meteor with a more linear velocity profile is designed as a complete unit, requiring no assembly and maintenance immediately before loading. It is designed to be compatible with AIM-120 type rail and eject launcher systems. Born out of the multi-national Project S225X examining the future BVRAAM technologies and designed for a network-centric warfare (NCW) environment, the Meteor has a data-link capability to be guided not only by the launching aircraft but also by another fighter or even by Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) platforms. The extended range/enhanced kinematics...