Why IAF Can't Equip Mirage 2000 Jets with 150km-Range Meteor BVR Missile: Two Key Factors

In a strategic setback for the Indian Air Force (IAF), plans to arm its Mirage 2000 fighter jets with the long-range Meteor air-to-air missile were thwarted in 2019. The manufacturers, Dassault Aviation (Mirage 2000) and MBDA (Meteor missile), declined the integration citing two primary reasons.

Firstly, integrating the Meteor onto the Mirage 2000 platform would have required extensive and costly modifications to the aircraft's systems. Both Dassault and MBDA deemed these modifications to be financially prohibitive.

Secondly, there were concerns about the Mirage 2000's ability to fully leverage the Meteor's capabilities. The advanced technology of the Meteor missile might not have been seamlessly compatible with the older systems on board the Mirage 2000.

The Meteor missile, with its impressive 150 km range and a formidable 100 km "no-escape zone," offers a significant advantage in Beyond Visual Range (BVR) combat scenarios. It is an integral part of the armament package for India's 36 Rafale jets acquired from France.

The deployment of the Meteor on the Rafale is anticipated to significantly shift the regional air power dynamics. Currently, neither China nor Pakistan possesses a comparable missile system, potentially granting the IAF a strategic edge in future aerial engagements.

 

[sanket]

Some times Meteor Range is mentioned 200 kM Now it is been seen 150 kM which one is True ,it was pure marketing Funda From Dassault to sell more Rafales ,MIG-29 is going to b integrated Astra Series Rudram 1 & In Future Brahmos-NG why it is Feasible on that platform, Actually Upgradation Mirage-2000 is very costly even after that it is minus PESA Radar.Three Fighter jets F-16 Mirage-2000 & MIG-29 are in same decade may b F-16 some earlier but today Mirage look outdated in all 3 Fighter jet.

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

Some times Meteor Range is mentioned 200 kM Now it is been seen 150 kM which one is True ,it was pure marketing Funda From Dassault to sell more Rafales ,MIG-29 is going to b integrated Astra Series Rudram 1 & In Future Brahmos-NG why it is Feasible on that platform, Actually Upgradation Mirage-2000 is very costly even after that it is minus PESA Radar.Three Fighter jets F-16 Mirage-2000 & MIG-29 are in same decade may b F-16 some earlier but today Mirage look outdated in all 3 Fighter jet.

Range depends on a lot of things. Such as altitude, enemy's RCS, radar etc. 200km, is maximum possible range given everything else is optimal.

 

[War is good for business]

Some times Meteor Range is mentioned 200 kM Now it is been seen 150 kM which one is True ,it was pure marketing Funda From Dassault to sell more Rafales ,MIG-29 is going to b integrated Astra Series Rudram 1 & In Future Brahmos-NG why it is Feasible on that platform, Actually Upgradation Mirage-2000 is very costly even after that it is minus PESA Radar.Three Fighter jets F-16 Mirage-2000 & MIG-29 are in same decade may b F-16 some earlier but today Mirage look outdated in all 3 Fighter jet.

Against fighter sized targets the range would be 150km at best and realistically within 100km but against AEWACS or Tankers the range would be the advertised range at best and realistically within 200km

 

[sunilanalysis]

which vendor will accept excessive conjjucy 🙂
Even Russia refused to integrate some long range A2As on Mig29s and Su30MKIs.

 

[PKPRS]

Some times Meteor Range is mentioned 200 kM Now it is been seen 150 kM which one is True ,it was pure marketing Funda From Dassault to sell more Rafales ,MIG-29 is going to b integrated Astra Series Rudram 1 & In Future Brahmos-NG why it is Feasible on that platform, Actually Upgradation Mirage-2000 is very costly even after that it is minus PESA Radar.Three Fighter jets F-16 Mirage-2000 & MIG-29 are in same decade may b F-16 some earlier but today Mirage look outdated in all 3 Fighter jet.

But dassault still Charged $60Mln/Mirage for the useless upgrade.

 

[NSR]

Extreme stupidity and idiocy to even ask for integration of Meteor on Mirage 2000 when it does not even carry an AESA radar to scan deep and track enemy targets.
Mirage-2000UPG carries only old line RDY-3 radar.

 

[Ajay Singha]

Think about su57 or rafael 4.2 or rafael 4.1 or eurotyphoon latest version

Or F-35?

 

[AK S]

Apologists for Dassault.

$2.5b (about 15 years ago) for upgrade of 50odd mirages! I guess they wanted to put Meteor on Mirage for the price of a brand new Rafale. How about AESA and EWS Spectra
- why are they missing?

As a comparison, we could have bought 4-5 squadrons of Tejas Ml1

 

[Akshat]

Apologists for Dassault.

$2.5b (about 15 years ago) for upgrade of 50odd mirages! I guess they wanted to put Meteor on Mirage for the price of a brand new Rafale. How about AESA and EWS Spectra
- why are they missing?

As a comparison, we could have bought 4-5 squadrons of Tejas Ml1

But bro IAF refused to buy Tejas beyond 40 planes. And they were more than happy to pay this price for Mirages. So imagine how useless Tejas mk1 must have been. After over 30 years of development.

Oh and by the way, even mk1 isn’t that cheap. You will probably get about 2 squadrons at best.

 

[vamkris]

Think about su57 or rafael 4.2 or rafael 4.1 or eurotyphoon latest version

 

[Anurag]

But bro IAF refused to buy Tejas beyond 40 planes. And they were more than happy to pay this price for Mirages. So imagine how useless Tejas mk1 must have been. After over 30 years of development.

Oh and by the way, even mk1 isn’t that cheap. You will probably get about 2 squadrons at best.

Totally wastage of money and time still struggling with everything(IAF)!!

 

[PKPRS]

Extreme stupidity and idiocy to even ask for integration of Meteor on Mirage 2000 when it does not even carry an AESA radar to scan deep and track enemy targets.
Mirage-2000UPG carries only old line RDY-3 radar.

First of all it is extreme stupidity and idiocracy to pay $60Mln for nothing, that $60Mln could have been spent to buy Tejas.

 

[PKPRS]

But bro IAF refused to buy Tejas beyond 40 planes. And they were more than happy to pay this price for Mirages. So imagine how useless Tejas mk1 must have been. After over 30 years of development.

Oh and by the way, even mk1 isn’t that cheap. You will probably get about 2 squadrons at best.

This is why IAF didn’t order more Rafale’s even after Macron cried, begged and pleased them to buy Rafales more than 100 times, because IAF decided they are useless after buying 36 and using them realtime fir a while.

 

[Akshat]

Totally wastage of money and time still struggling with everything(IAF)!!

IAF is not struggling. HAL and MoD are. They have been very clear from the start. And they have won every single war they fought. So the decisions are right as well. They now need free hand from MoD.

 

[Man-ju]

First of all it is extreme stupidity and idiocracy to pay $60Mln for nothing, that $60Mln could have been spent to buy Tejas.

Yes, buying Tejas is good but can you tell me who is making Tejas on time and what's the point of getting that Tejas after 20 years when that tech will be obselete.

 

[Man-ju]

Some times Meteor Range is mentioned 200 kM Now it is been seen 150 kM which one is True ,it was pure marketing Funda From Dassault to sell more Rafales ,MIG-29 is going to b integrated Astra Series Rudram 1 & In Future Brahmos-NG why it is Feasible on that platform, Actually Upgradation Mirage-2000 is very costly even after that it is minus PESA Radar.Three Fighter jets F-16 Mirage-2000 & MIG-29 are in same decade may b F-16 some earlier but today Mirage look outdated in all 3 Fighter jet.

Officially Meteor Range is still classified, maybe some assumptions made by the author of this article. Anyways IMHO Missiles ranges differ based on conditions also 200+ km is probably and ideal estimate and 150km is general scenario. Anyways article also mentions 100km NEZ which is not possible for a 150km range missiles. So numbers may not be accurate here completely.

 

[Sreedhar Radhakrishna]

Yes, buying Tejas is good but can you tell me who is making Tejas on time and what's the point of getting that Tejas after 20 years when that tech will be obselete.

Can you tell me who is delayed the Tejas project. From 1st flight in 2002 to FOC in 2019. Does it require 18 years of testing. The end user is responsible for this. They kept demanding new features, improvements and that too one after the other. The IAF has the biggest responsibility in delaying the Tejas project.

 

[Rajendra Rao]

Dassault is trying to emotionally black mail IAF denying to support the request for integrating meteor missiles systems into our mirage 2000 fleet yet IAF should not lose hope but use our own minds in developing the system to integrate the missiles into Mirage 2000 feets.. Jai hind 💪 ✊ 🇮🇳

 

[Ajay Singha]

which vendor will accept excessive conjjucy 🙂
Even Russia refused to integrate some long range A2As on Mig29s and Su30MKIs.

If India wants to buy the 12 Mirage from Qatar, it makes sense to challenge DRDO to upgrade the Mirage with the GaN version of Utam from Tejas..and double-down on Next-Gen Astra-II/III. Also add one stage of pulse power to ASTRA. just thinking out loud, not sure what other System constraints there could be.. (powerplant versus weight, Multi-mode capability, etc. )