South Africa eyes new missile for Gripen fighter
Date: 11 October 2006
Denel Aerospace is developing a new active-radar beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) to meet a future South African Air Force (SAAF) requirement for a weapon in this class.
Under existing plans the SAAF will not have a BVRAAM for its Saab Gripen fighter force when it enters service at the end of the decade. The R-Darter missile, currently fielded on SAAF Cheetah C fighters, is to be retired along with the Cheetahs around 2010.
Denel has confirmed the existence of the new AAM to Jane's, but provided few details and declined to identify the project by name. The missile will use significant elements of Denel's Umkhonto naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), but be fitted with a new seeker. Current Umkhonto weapons are infra-red (IR)-guided but a new active-radar seeker is under development for the Umkhonto-R SAM variant.
Denel would not say if the BVRAAM would incorporate the Unkhonto's thrust-vectored controls, a key element of the SAM's design. While noting that it has proved difficult in the past to develop an effective AAM from an existing SAM, Denel believes that the Umkhonto (and its components) is a viable basis from which to start.
Earlier work done on advanced BVR weapons at weapons at Denel - successors to the R-Darter known as S-Darter and T-Darter - will also flow into the new design. Asked if this might include the ramjet propulsion systems once considered for future South African AAM's, a company representative replied obliquely that ‘range is always important', although another programme official described the new weapon a missile in the 60km range class.
The new BVRAAM is still in its primary design phase and Denel says this cannot be finalised until the SAAF issues a formal requirement. Denel also notes that the R-Darter has not been completely abandoned and that, officially, the decision to integrate it with the Gripen has only been ‘deferred'. However, all work with the R-Darter by the Gripen team was halted some time ago under direction from Armscor.
Denel hopes to produce hardware for the new missile in about two years time. Significantly, a company official stated that the development programme would ‘almost certainly be an international effort'. The most obvious future partners are Brazil and India. South Africa already has common missile projects under way with Brazil, but plans for wider military technology co-operation have yet to live up to expectations.
Under the 2003 IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) initiative and in their subsequent meetings, these three governments agreed a number of co-operative goals. South African officials have confirmed to Jane's that this included work on joint missile projects.
South Africa and Brazil have already signed a bi-lateral agreement to develop the A-Darter agile short-range AAM. Attempts to widen the scope to include India in joint missile projects have so far proved unsuccessful.
During the 2006 African Aerospace and Defence exhibition in Cape Town on 20-24 September, senior Armscor officials commented that collaborative missile development work was under way between the IBSA partners.
However, sources close to the IBSA agreement within the South African Ministry of Defence told Jane's ‘Military co-operation has been very, very limited. We would like to have achieved more but not enough has happened and it is little more than a talking shop right now'.
‘The work between South Africa and Brazil on the A-Darter cannot be attributed to IBSA and the third partner, India, is reluctant to engage with third parties so no tri-lateral programmes have developed. South Africa is discussing projects with India on a bi-lateral basis only, but missile technology still remains a primary environment in which we would hope to work.'
Jane's Defence Weekly
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Como será que está isso?!
O cara que não respondeu diretamente.
![[003]](./images/smilies/003.gif "Gargalhada"){kind=small}
![[004]](./images/smilies/004.gif "Fogo!"){kind=small}
, mas ele esquivou e muito bem (ala MATRIX)... Parabens a FAB por recusar.
![8-]](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif "Cool"){kind=icon}
