Hell yeaaa.
the standard to which they will be built is unclear. it might as well just be a new order of T4 standard eurofighters. thats why some refer to it as a T4+ order
ssshhhhh, let us dream
makes me wonder why none of the Forum Moderators whose job it is to… well, moderate the Forums (in other words, stop nutcases like this guy being a douche to anyone and everyone)
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Had this discussion the other day on a discord server, but im not sure why Germany doesn’t just phase out the IRIS-T and just start manufacturing the IRIS-T SLM for both air to ground and air to air at this point…
Itd vastly improve its IRAAM’s range on the eurofighter, likely with little impact on maneuverability, and would lower the cost of the SLM through economy of scale, while simplifying the manufacturing process through standardization…
IRIS-T vs SLM:
Its still smaller than the British ASRAAM but has more range…
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its larger than the ASRAAM. i’m estimating an 18-19cm diameter (asraam is 16,6) and its 3450mm long (asraam is 2900, similar to sls)
so in some way the SLM will have reduced maneuverability, even though it retains the thrust vectoring and afaik the same aerodynamic surfaces. i’d guess its mainly due to weight.
next you have the aerodynamic cap. for ground launches its fine to just jettison it somewhere but for air launches you have to make sure that the aircraft doesnt accidentally ingest it into its engines
now i do think they should adapt it to be air launched but replacing the current a2a is not a great idea. or maybe they should skip the SLM and go for the SLX in an air launched config lol
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wouldnt that be more of a BVR missle at that point?
Yes, combined RF/IR guidance
oh and A2G usage as a psuedo ALBM
still looking forward as well if the korean german collaboration will end with an upgraded missle
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i doubt it
Its stated to be 152mm diam vs ASRAAM’s 160mm…
You could just… not put it on?
SLX is much larger:
All in all, the SLM appears to largely outperform the ASRAAM in range, and is likely equal to or better than it in maneuverability. Its also an almost 4x improvement in range compared to the regular IRIS-T when ground launched, and would outperform the MICA as well.
please show me where thats stated
its to protect the seeker. if it needs that for ground launch, it will definitely need it for air launch
thats fine
in that regard remember without it range might be slightly decreased
From wiki, but ive literally never seen it quoted as any bigger than 152mm:
Its also obviously not that much bigger compared to the regular IRIS-T.
That just implies the seeker isn’t being used to lock the target until terminal range, at which case having a ballistic cap is beneficial for range. Seeing as the actual seeker portion of the missile has the same diameter, i dont see any reason to believe it uses anything but the regular IRIS-T seekerhead.
Not really when you’re trying to use it as a SRAAM and the thing is as large/larger than your BVRAAM’s…
Good point. Would still be an obvious improvement over the regular IRIS-T with the larger motor though. The CAMM (ASRAAM with a boost/turnover back for ground launch) is stated at >25km range btw, and i kinda doubt removing the cap would drop its range by more than like 5-10km at most.
So no more IR missile? Since SLM is radar guided no?
How much does it weigh?..
No? Regular IRIS-T sensor is under the cap which is jettisoned from the missile for terminal guidance afaik
That, I have no clue, but should be a tad more than the ASRAAM, seeing as the IRIS-T and ASRAAM are about the same weight (somehow?)
Wiki doesnt quote a source so thats to be disregarded.
The seeker has to be protected from heat and whatever. it is the same seeker and warhead as the a2a, thats why the diameter is also 5 inches at the front. you cant just get rid of it and expect it to perform the same. the seeker might get damaged during the high speed when fired at long ranges
the purpose of slx wouldn’t be as an sraam. i should clarify that i’d see slm or slx be integrated more as a standoff weapon (if at all) rather than an sraam replacement.
my estimate for the diameter is based on this
with a length of 3450mm, it gives an approximate diameter of ~18-19cm
though depending on how big the rail thing on the side is, it might also be a bit under 18cm (if they used imperial dimensions then that could be 7 inches (177.8mm)
You have a point, I wonder why its stated to be 152mm… 190mm seems like an overclaim though, comparing diameter of the head section to that of the base i got around 171mm. Doesn’t change a whole lot tho, goes from slightly smaller than ASRAAM to slightly larger than it.