Posted on 07/25/2014 6:15:55 AM PDT by C19fan
The air force of neutral Sweden may not be one of the big-hitters in terms of global power projection. Indeed, it has barely even undertaken combat operations.
When Swedish jets went into action over Libya in 2011, during Operation Unified Protector, the government only allowed them to fly reconnaissance missions. The previous time Swedish fighters deployed in combat was almost 50 years earlier, during the Congo crisis.
However, Sweden always has taken its air defense very seriouslyand has a proven track record of developing innovative, often indigenous solutions to meet its air-power needs. Now, the Swedish air force is about to field what is arguably the most capable air-to-air missile in the world.
The Meteor is not a Swedish product per se, but it will see its initial operational service as part of the armament of the Swedish air forces fleet of Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen fighters.
(Excerpt) Read more at medium.com ...
They’re accurate and inexpensive, but you have to assemble them yourself.
“Theyre accurate and inexpensive, but you have to assemble them yourself.”
And they pack flat, can fit in the back of any mid-size SUV, and are 98% particle board.
Very interesting, but I wonder what the Russians and Chinese have up their sleeves.
Great use of ramjets. Is there a booster to get it up to ramjet speed, article doesn’t say.
According to Wikipedia there is a solid rocket booster to accelerate to ramjet speed.
They have our Phoenix?,
Created by Roger Ramjet.
now THAT’S funny
Yes but they are still working on how to fire it from a bi-plane.
Transgendered aircraft? We are sooooo screwed!
Well it is Sweden after all. lol nicely played
Doesn’t look like the Meteor has front steering fins, interesting.
Brilliant
bump
Probably designed and made by WOMEN, while the men stayed home and played house.
“Is there a booster to get it up to ramjet speed, article doesnt say.”
There are several types of booster available:
- Gripen
- Eurofighter
- Rafale
and even the F-22.
Best thing is to start a missile at supersonic speeds so the missile itself doesn’t has to provide the energy to cross the sound barrier.
No super cruise? Bad luck for F-35 and others...
They do have a small booster rocket to get it to probably Mach 2.
That is at least what the Wiki says.
Ramjets, don’t work well under Mach 2.
The booster is integrated within the ramjet. The solid propellant closes the air intakes as long as it works as a rocket engine.
Still it is a huge difference between Mach 1+ or a subsonic launch due to range.
That sounds workable, I guess the solid booster weight would be negligible after the fuel is expended? It wouldn’t work if it had the complexity of the SR71.
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