The British are working to equip their F-35B jets with the Meteor missile, but this won't happen until at least 2029.

The first successful tests of the Meteor air-to-air missile installed on the F-35B fighter have been completed. During the tests, the missile was placed in the internal compartment of the F-35B, after which the aircraft flew with it.

However, it was not the actual Meteor missile that was tested, but rather a mass and dimensional mock-up designed to collect environmental data as part of its integration program on the F-35B.

This raises a challenge: the integration of these missiles is only possible on upgraded F-35Bs to Block 4 standards, which presents some difficulties. One of the issues is delays with the interim Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) software-hardware update, without which modernization to Block 4 is impossible. This update was supposed to be ready by April 2023, but the delivery of aircraft with this update only began in 2024, and at half the scale initially planned.

Another challenge lies within the Block 4 modification itself. Initially, it was planned to add 66 new capabilities in this modification, with deployment expected in 2026. However, over time, the ambitions have grown, and now it is anticipated that as many as 80 new capabilities will be included, with program deployment not starting until at least 2029.

In 2022, the UK planned to complete the integration of Meteor missiles no earlier than 2027, but given the delays in the Block 4 program, these missiles are unlikely to be seen on the UK F-35Bs before 2029.

The Meteor is a long-range air-to-air missile with a range of up to 200 km. This range is achieved through the use of a solid-fuel ramjet engine. This technology is not unique; for example, a similar solution was used by the Soviet 3M9 for the "Kub" missile system. This allows the use of solid fuel with little or no oxidizer, as oxygen is drawn from the air.

It features a fragmentation-high explosive warhead weighing 25 kg. The total weight of the missile is 190 kg. Its maximum speed is approximately Mach 4 (4900 km/h). To guide the Meteor, it is equipped with its own autonomous radar system, allowing it to be used in a "fire and forget" mode.

Currently, the F-35 is equipped with the AIM-120D missile, which has the same maximum speed but uses a conventional solid-fuel rocket engine that operates for a shorter duration compared to the Meteor, resulting in a 20 km shorter operational range for the AIM-120D (specifically 180 km) than for the Meteor.

Thus, the integration of Meteor missiles onto the British F-35B is expected to significantly enhance their combat capabilities, but this will not occur until 2029, rather than the previously planned 2027.