How Air-To-Air Missiles Have Completely Changed The Dynamics Of Aerial Battles As Dogfighting Takes A Back Seat
"....More modern infrared-guided missiles can detect the heat of an aircraft’s skin, warmed by airflow friction, in addition to the fainter heat signature of the engine when the aircraft is seen from the side or head-on. This, combined with more excellent maneuverability, gives them an all-aspect capability.
The pilot can also use a helmet-mounted sight (HMS) to slew the missile seeker’s head towards the target for an off-boresight launch. The medium and long-range missiles are beyond visual range (BVR) AAMs. These use active or semi-active radar guidance, sometimes combined with inertial guidance.
The Meteor is a European active radar-guided BVR AAM developed and manufactured by MBDA. It can also engage small targets such as UAVs and cruise missiles in a heavy electronic countermeasures (ECM) environment with a maximum range of around 180 km.
It flies at Mach 4, and the solid-fueled ramjet motor provides the missile with thrust and mid-course acceleration to target intercept. A two-way data link enables the launch aircraft to provide mid-course target updates or retargeting, including data from off-board third parties.
Meteor Missile is an Active Radar Guided, Beyond Visual Range BVR, Air-To-Air Missile (BVRAAM) system. MBDA Systems made Meteor missile.
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The No-Escape Zone is the zone within which there is a high (defined) kill probability against a target even if it has been alerted. This zone is defined as a conical shape with the tip at the missile launch. The cone's length and width are determined by the missile and seeker performance.
A missile's speed, range and seeker sensitivity will mostly determine the length of this imaginary cone, while its agility (turn rate) and seeker complexity (speed of detection and ability to detect off axis targets) will determine the width of the cone.
According to MBDA, Meteor has three to six times the kinetic performance of current AAMs. This nearly 2 million dollars missile has the highest no-escape distance of 60 km.
Chinese PL-15 is an active radar-guided long-range AAM first test fired in 2011. It entered PLAAF service around 2017 and currently arms the Chengdu J-10C, the Shenyang J-16, and the Shenyang J-11B, and the Chengdu J-20, JF-17 Block III, replacing the earlier PL-12. The Mach 4+ missile reportedly has a range between 200 and 300 km.
The PL-21 is an active radar-guided long-range AAM reportedly comparable to the American AIM-260 JATM and the Russian R-37. Powered by a ramjet, it has an estimated range of over 300 km.
Astra is an Indian BVR AAM developed by the DRDO which can engage targets up to 110 km range. Astra Mk-1 has already been integrated on IAF’s Su-30MKI and will be integrated on Mirage 2000, LCA Tejas, and MiG-29. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) is a production agency. Each missile will cost around Rs 7–8 crore. "
Analysis By Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd) The latest use of an Air-to-Air missile (AAM) was by the US Northern Command F-22 Raptor fighter jet launching an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to take down a car-sized object flying above Alaska on February 10. The same combination of jet and missile...
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