A new step forward in the integration of the METEOR long-range air-to-air missile on the F-35. On October 7, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (Maryland, United States), an F-35B carried out the first release of the missile from its internal weapons bay. The test, announced by MBDA on November 5, is the first flight trial of a campaign designed to verify the safe separation of the weapon from the aircraft.

The trial involved a jettison, that is, the release of the missile without igniting its motor. This is a particularly delicate step for the F-35: the internal bays, needed to preserve the aircraft’s low observability, require verifying that the weapon passes through the airflows near the fuselage without striking the structure or altering the fighter’s stability. According to MBDA, the release was carried out normally, collecting data useful for refining the digital models that predict the missile’s trajectory during release.

Further trials with different flight profiles will follow over the coming months, leading up to live launches intended to validate both separation and the subsequent behavior of the METEOR. The October 7 test therefore does not yet constitute operational certification. The mission was flown by a Royal Navy test pilot, as part of the activities of the joint Anglo-American F-35 ITF (Integrated Test Force) task force.

The program is especially important for the United Kingdom and Italy, which intend to expand the air-to-air combat capabilities of their F-35s. Developed by MBDA within a 6-nation European cooperation, the METEOR is a BVR (Beyond Visual Range) missile equipped with a sustained-thrust ramjet propulsion system, an active radar seeker and a two-way datalink. Integration into the F-35’s internal bays would allow its wide No Escape Zone (NEZ) to be combined with the aircraft’s detection, sensor fusion and low-observability capabilities, strengthening its ability to engage air threats at long range while retaining a reduced radar cross-section configuration.

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