South African Gripen A-A missiles

Looks like the current development snags delaying the A-Darter could very well see the German missile arming the Gripens

Aviation Week & Space Technology

December 13, 2004

SECTION: Defense; Pg. 70 Vol. 161 No. 23

Dogfight Quandary: South Africa struggles to resolve contradictory requirements for a key missile purchase

Robert Wall; Douglas Barrie

Clashing political and military imperatives are confounding South Africa’s efforts to select a short-range air-to-air missile for its Gripen fighter aircraft.

The Defense Ministry is now looking at a straight choice between the German-led IRIS-T and South African missile maker Denel Aerospace’s Agile-Darter. But there’s growing concern among some in industry that a decision will be pushed back several years because of a lack of funds and different views within the government on how to proceed.

Industry officials involved in both the IRIS-T and the Saab/BAE Systems Gripen program say the air force favors the IRIS-T, given the reduced level of risk. The first production deliveries to the core partners in the six-nation consortium are slated for next year. A final production agreement could be inked before year-end.

Sweden, one of the IRIS-T partners, will have the missile integrated on its JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter. The South African Air Force is scheduled to field its first Gripens in 2007.

Compared with the IRIS-T, the V3E A-Darter is considerably less mature; the program is still in development. Although some flight trials have taken place, many more tests would be required before deploying the missile. One industry official contends South Africa would have to spend about $100 million more before the weapon is ready.

However, in South African political circles there’s a strong desire to acquire A-Darter and support the country’s fragile industrial base. To help achieve that goal, South Africa is looking for possible development partners; Brazil is seen as one candidate. The Gripen is in the running to fulfill the latter’s long standing fighter requirement. And, in Mectron, Brazil has a missile manufacturer that could partner with Denel.

South African officials won’t comment on what industrial ties may be in the works between Denel and its Brazilian counterparts. However, one representative points to the existence of a governmental Brazilian-Indian-South African cooperation effort that spans a range of technologies.

DISCUSSIONS WITHIN South Africa on how to arm the Gripen, both for air-to-air combat and ground attack, have dragged on throughout the year. One senior South African government official confirms that there’s currently a “lively debate going on.” No final decisions have been made, he adds, although there’s a clear understanding that time is starting to run out.

A decision will have to be made soon to ensure that the weapons can be integrated on Gripen in time for its fielding in South Africa. However, meeting that schedule seems increasingly unlikely.

In addition to the industrial policy question surrounding the missile, military officials are debating whether, in an African security environment, Gripen should be armed primarily with a beyond-visual-range (BVR) missile or a dogfight weapon. The South African Air Force already uses the V-4 Radar-Darter (originally codeveloped with Israel) for BVR combat.

South Africa has been working on the A-Darter since the mid-1990s; subsystems are under development and test. An imaging infrared seeker has undergone captive-carry flight trials, while unguided airframe firings have also been carried out. The missile uses a combination of tail-control and thrust-vectoring for agility.