Ukraine’s Gripen jets likely to come with long-reach Meteor missiles

SINGAPORE — Ukraine and Sweden are discussing the prospect of arming Kyiv with Europe’s top air-to-air missile, the Meteor, which a Saab official said would be a “natural content” of a weapon package for Gripen users.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced last week that the country was discussing the potential transfer of JAS 39 Gripen jets and Meteor missiles to the war-torn country. These beyond-visual range, air-to-air missiles can currently only be integrated on the Gripen, Eurofighter, and the Rafale fighter jets, although the United Kingdom is leading ground-based integration testing on the F-35.

“The Meteor missile would be a natural content in a weapon package for any Gripen user, discussions are taking place with several export nations, including Ukraine,” Jussi Halmetoja, operations advisor in the air domain at Saab told Defense News at the Singapore Airshow here.

Halmetoja added that the Meteor missiles would enhance Ukraine’s operations by providing pilots with extended engagement ranges, denying Russian aircraft freedom of movement and control of the air.

Late last year, Ukraine and Sweden signed a letter of intent to export up to 150 Gripen fighter jets to Kyiv, although no final deal has been concluded.

The Meteor is 419-pound (190 kilo) munition manufactured by MBDA that first entered into service with the Swedish Air Force on the Gripen in 2016. It was developed in a joint project of six European countries, including Sweden, and led by MBDA.

It uses a rocket booster as well as a throttleable ramjet motor that can continue to power the missile until impact, allowing for late-stage maneuverability. That capability increases its kill-zone compared to more common rocket-powered air-to-air missiles that coast after their initial boost. Saab lists Meteor’s range as more than 100 kilometers and its speed at over Mach 4, though the range is regularly reported as being around 200 kilometers.

Meteor was “arguably the most capable AAM currently in service on Western combat aircraft,” the London-based International Institute for Security Studies wrote in a report in September 2022.

Last year, Sweden procured its third batch of Meteor missiles destined for the Gripen aircraft. The acquisition was done through international cooperation, whereby the British arm of MBDA is the one providing the systems.

MBDA did not return a request to comment at the time of writing.

Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris contributed to this report.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

新加坡——乌克兰和瑞典正在讨论向基辅提供欧洲顶级空空导弹“流星”的可能性，萨博公司的一位官员表示，这将是“鹰狮”战斗机用户武器包的“自然组成部分”。

乌克兰国防部长米哈伊洛·费多罗夫上周宣布，该国正在讨论向饱受战火蹂躏的乌克兰转让JAS 39“鹰狮”战斗机和“流星”导弹的可能性。这些超视距空空导弹目前只能集成到“鹰狮”、“台风”和“阵风”战斗机上，尽管英国正在牵头对F-35战斗机进行地面集成测试。

萨博公司空中领域运营顾问尤西·哈尔梅托亚在新加坡航展上告诉《防务新闻》：“对于任何鹰狮战斗机用户来说，流星导弹都是武器包中的天然组成部分，我们正在与包括乌克兰在内的几个出口国进行讨论。”

哈尔梅托亚补充说，“流星”导弹将通过为飞行员提供更远的作战距离来增强乌克兰的作战能力，从而剥夺俄罗斯飞机的行动自由和制空权。

去年底，乌克兰和瑞典签署了一份意向书，拟向基辅出口至多 150 架鹰狮战斗机，但尚未达成最终协议。

“流星”是一种重 419 磅（190 公斤）的弹药，由 MBDA 公司制造，于 2016 年首次在瑞典空军的鹰狮战斗机上投入使用。它是包括瑞典在内的六个欧洲国家联合开发的项目，由 MBDA 公司领导。

它采用火箭助推器和可调推力冲压发动机，后者能持续为导弹提供动力直至命中目标，从而实现后期机动。与常见的火箭动力空空导弹相比，这种能力扩大了其杀伤范围，因为后者在初始助推后会滑行一段距离。萨博公司公布的“流星”导弹射程超过100公里，速度超过4马赫，但通常报道称其射程约为200公里。

总部位于伦敦的国际安全研究所 (International Institute for Security Studies) 在 2022 年 9 月的一份报告中写道，“流星”导弹“可以说是目前西方战斗机上服役的最强大的空空导弹”。

去年，瑞典采购了第三批“流星”导弹，用于装备“鹰狮”战斗机。此次采购是通过国际合作完成的，由MBDA公司的英国分公司提供导弹系统。

截至发稿时，MBDA尚未回复置评请求。

巴黎的鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格对本报道亦有贡献。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。