An F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) fighter has successfully conducted its first internal weapons bay (IWB) jettison test of the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM). The milestone marks a significant step in the ongoing effort to integrate the Meteor missile onto British and Italian F-35 Lightning II aircraft.
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) and MBDA announced the achievement on November 5, 2026, confirming that the test had actually taken place on October 7 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Pax River), Maryland. The event was described as the first in a planned series of missile jettison trials designed to validate the weapon's safe release from the aircraft's internal weapons bay.
Upcoming trials will progressively expand the flight-test envelope, evaluating missile separation under a wider range of flight conditions to ensure safe and reliable clearance from the aircraft. Once these assessments are completed, the integration campaign will advance to live-fire testing.
An image released jointly by the JPO and MBDA shows a specially instrumented U.S. Marine Corps F-35B releasing an inert Meteor test article during level flight, providing an initial demonstration of the missile's compatibility with the aircraft's internal weapons bay.
F-35B getting Meteor will significantly increase its air to air combat effectiveness. Let’s dive into the details.
Source: Defense Updates
