July 5,
2008: The European consortium that
designed and built the IRIS-T air-to-air missile, has made its first export
sale, to South Africa, which will buy a few dozen to equip their new Swedish-made
Gripen fighters.
The German
Air Force was the first to receive the IRIS-T air-to-air missile, back in late
2005. The IRIS-T is basically a clone of the U.S. Sidewinder heat seeking
missile, but is built, from European components, in Europe. The IRIS-T can be used
by any aircraft that can use Sidewinder. The IRIS has been in development since
the 1980s, with the U.S. as one of the original partners. But that arrangement
fell apart when the Cold War ended in 1991, and it wasn't until 1995 that the
project was revived. The first test launch of IRIS-T took place in 2000, with
mass production starting five years later. The IRIS-T is 9.8 feet long, weighs
192 pounds, has a 12 kilometer range and is very maneuverable. It's rocket
motor generates very little smoke. Most European nations are expected to use
the IRIS-T from now on, instead of the Sidewinder. There are orders for about
4,000 IRIS-Ts so far.
