Physically yeah but software upgrades exist and I know they have done some at some point, so them happening on the F.4 standards wouldn’t surprise me
My point the is that it would not have any impact in game
oh for sure
This is an abysmal take, it’s been proven to cruise from Mach 4.5-5, this puts it in the realms of R37M and R-33, AMRAAM and MICA wouldn’t even compare in terms of Time to target since METEOR will cruise at this speed for tens of seconds before then gliding
where did u get the info for its cruise speed ? im trying to learn more abt meteor.
It uses a ramjet. The optimal operational speed for ramjet is anywhere from Mach 4 to Mach 5 approximately.
Following the brochure below, comparing probably to the AMRAAM, maybe MICA (doesn’t really state what missile the meteor is compared to), it would probably put the Meteor at roughly Mach 4 cruising speed, maybe a bit lower, not Mach 4.5 (with MICA having a peak speed of Mach 4.5, the AMRAAM right around Mach 4, and their peak speed being higher than the meteor)
Tho, with its speed being on average much higher than normal AMRAAM, you can expect the time to target above say 30km to be much better than regular AMRAAM, and probably still similar to long range missiles like the PL15 and AIM260 at their max range
Certain on those figures? I could 100% be mis-remembering. But thought it was about M3.5 for optimal speed for ramjet
With the variable throttle. I guess at long range would cruise at 3.5 but at shorter ranges just send it, so might be more like 4-4.5
this diagram makes it look like it cruises at M 3/3.5
i think meteors time to target will be better beyond 10-20km
Yeah, it probably will.
It’s why I think German Typhoons have been using aim-120Ds alongside Meteors
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germany uses aim120d ?
They had to get some for their F35s as the Americans wont integrate meteor in a timely fashions
they ordered it in 2025 right ? i thought they haven’t received it yet.
Ordered what?
AIM-120D I’m assuming
so,… 2022 and 2024, not 2025
but still not active.
apart that: Germany doesn’t need to buy F-35 to get AIM-120D already, but it seems that they never ordered AIM-120D, and sticked to the AIM-120C-8 variants,… and that there is only studies for the AIM-120D-3 procurement alongside F-35’s
still in discussion in september 2025
so they dont have aim120d in active service ? i thought they ordered aim120d in 2025 based on a news articles Germany Pays More for AIM-120 Than Its Own Meteor But There’s No Other Option | Defense Express
ig its not true then
Surprising nobody at all that America wants to keep people attached to their military complex instead of cooperating with supposed partners.
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they may have been ordered between september and now,…
but no contracts are final until they got delivered.
In september 2025, Germany only recieved a favorable information from the US Governement DSCA approval, to the LOA, notifying the US Congress to vote over this intended command of 400 AIM-120D-3.
but i don’t see any US Congress approval for Germany, so process is still incomplete,… and it’s still an “Intent to buy”
So germany still not have AIM-120D-3 in service today. (only the AIM-120C-8 they’ve got previously)
more about the Process:
I had seen a paper at some point, although I can’t find it. Maybe I misremembered or it could be dependent on the geometry of the engine…
Since I can’t find it (and it wasn’t related to missiles per say), it’s probably better to assume Mach 3.5 cruise indeed for the Meteor, especially since @naruto24k is also right in point out it’s closer to Mach 3-3.5 (if it’s compared to Aim120. If compared to MICA, which is also produced by MBDA, so this could be argued, it’d probably be in the upper Mach 3.5 area)
Damn, the 120D are costing them more than meteors despite meteors economy of scale being abysmal ? That’s insane