Introduction

In the United States, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, and the F-35 Joint Program Office have recently completed a series of critical ground integration tests between the BVR Meteor missile and the F-35A Lightning II, bringing the two systems closer to operational readiness.

Conducted at Edwards AFB in California, the ground vibration tests and fit checks performed have validated the key hardware interactions between the Lightning II and the European Meteor missile. This is a crucial step before moving on to the flight test phase.

Data Evaluation

The data collected from the tests have been carefully analyzed by industry professionals and the F-35 Joint Program Office to confirm that the Meteor missile can be stowed and deployed safely from the F-35A’s internal weapon bay, without affecting the aircraft’s stealth performance.

Before authorization for the start of flight tests of the aircraft equipped with this missile, one more ground test will be carried out.

Campaign

The campaign to integrate the Meteor missile onto the Lightning II sees the United Kingdom leading the program for the F-35B, the short take-off and vertical landing version. In contrast, Italy is the key sponsor of activities aboard the F-35A, the standard take-off and landing version of the fifth-generation aircraft.

Outlook

Thanks to the powerful sensor suite of the F-35 and the capabilities of the BVR Meteor missile, the British and Italian Air and Naval forces expect to gain a significant operational advantage from the combination of the two systems.

Source and photo credit: F-35 Joint Program Office