Saab, Swedish military complete pre-deployment tests of Meteor missile

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Saab, Swedish military complete pre-deployment tests of Meteor missile
by Richard Tomkins
Linkoping, Sweden (UPI) Jul 8, 2013

Saab supplying 84mm ammunition to five countries
Brussels (UPI) Jul 8, 2013 - A five-year framework agreement for supply of ammunition to five countries has been signed by the European Defense Agency and Saab Dynamics AB.

The agreement covers various types of 84mm ammunition for Saab's man-portable Carl-Gustaf recoilless anti-tank weapon.

The European Defense Agency, a European Union organization, is acting as the central purchasing body for the ammunition on behalf of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Poland under a 2013 initiative.

It will also be in charge of managing the framework contract to meet the pooled ammunition needs.

"This case presents useful opportunities for pooling of demand due to the communalities of the ammunition," the agency said. "Common procurement was seen as the best option by contributing member states to benefit from economies of scale, cost reductions, and efficiency in spending.

"This solution allows contributing Member States to purchase ammunition according to their national needs while coping with different budget cycles."

The framework agreement with Saab includes options for an additional two years and carries a value of nearly $68 million.

Pre-deployment trials of MBDA's Meteor missile integrated onto a Gripen fighter have been completed by Saab and the Sweden's Defense Materiel Administration.

The tests, which verified successful integration and validated seeker performance and missile range, were the last hurdle before operational deployment and testing of the Meteor BVRAAM -- beyond visual-range air-to-air missile.

"For Saab Aeronautics it has been a privilege to work together with the Meteor team during the development program," said Tobias Andersson, project manager for Meteor integration, Saab.

"The integration of this capability for the Swedish Air Force is a first for this kind of BVR missile. Sweden now has a head start in developing strategies to use this capability in air combat."

Saab said the Meteor capability will be delivered to the Swedish Air Force as part of Gripen's latest Materiel System 20 combat systems update for the Swedish Air Force. Once MS20 has been cleared for service, Sweden, and Gripen, will have the world's first and only functional Meteor BVRAAM capability.

Meteor is a ramjet-powered, very long-range air-to-air missile.

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