Can confirm that reducing the drag coefficient from 1.025 to 0.84 does the trick, both to get the armat to reach the target in the given time and to allow the martel to reach the speed of sound in a dive, after a supersonic climb and subsonic cruise.
I’m just saying what the various manuals / reports say. That would imply the missile is not supersonic during phase 1 of flight.
I should have expected quirks from an Anglo/French collaboration… The missile behaves pretty much like stated on the manual if you swap in the rocket booster and the sustainer from the aj.168, keeping the 25º loft profile and reduced weight. It gets better performance (shorter travel time + faster impact speed) than the french as.37 version when launched from sea level.
But loses it’s advantage when launched from altitude.
So there’s at least 4 different missiles with the same chassis:
- Aj.168 Tv guided (17200 N 5 s booster, 2000 N 110 s sustainer, 550kg)
- Aj.168 ARH (same as above, 530 kg)
- As.37 martel ARH (36000? N 2,4 s booster, 10000? N 22.4s sustainer, 530 kg)
- As.37 armat ARH (36000? N 2.4 s booster, 10000? N 28 s sustainer, 550 kg)
There was no British specific anti-radar version of AJ.168. Both Britain and France used the same AS.37 anti-radiation missile.
I took a quick look at the aj.168 specs posted on the forum. For starters, the ingame version has the wrong specifications, in warthunder the booster stage lasts for 5 seconds instead of 2,5 seconds, the sustainer stage lasts for 110 seconds instead of 92 seconds, and the overall missile weights 550 kg instead of 574 kg.
Second, while the trajectory modelling in warthunder/stat shark is limited, it seems very difficult for any missile to be able to reach supersonic speeds in a dive that started from subsonic speeds, especially in the thick lower atmosphere. So if the ARH version of the martel has a 22,2 second sustainer rocket that flames out before the climb is finished, it’s bound to be supersonic in the climb and either stay supersonic or subsonic the rest of the flight. The only way for the martel to climb subsonically and then dive supersonically is if the sustainer motor trades thrust for burn time, only cutting out after the missile starts losing altitude - and it’s the aj.168 that has the slower burning sustainer.
Third, the armat missile tests state clearly that.
Pour cette deuxième mission capitale pour l’avenir du Bazar”, la société Matra déploie les grands moyens : tous les responsables du programme sont là. En plus de l’équipe technique, sont présents Philippe Turpin, responsable chez Matra de tous les contrats avec l’Irak, et Jean Paolorsi, directeur emblématique et très respecté ,des programmes de missiles air-sol de Matra. …
… Le résultat de ce deuxième tir est donc un succès, avec encore une bonne précision d’impact, au grand soulagement des observateurs visuels “privilégiés”, qui rentrent en véhicule quelques heures après sur la base de Qayyarah-Ouest. L’enthousiasme est de retour et le dernier stress s’évanouit avec le pot improvisé qui s’ensuit. Jean Paolorsi est ravi d’avoir entendu le bang sonique de son missile qu’il avait toujours cru, jusqu’alors, parfaitement subsonique.
So even matra’s technical director thought the improved version of the as37 martel was still subsonic through most of it’s flight…
Regardless, i think the version i made is close enough, with the only real question remaining being the exact thrust and isp values of the different rocket motors, but i think that answer is probably hidden in some microfilm archive owned by MBDA.