London Launch for Major BVRAAM Campaign

Asian Aerospace 2000 -- Raytheon disclosed in London Wednesday the formation of a new partnership between its Missile Systems Division and Germany's BGT (Bodernseewerk) to further the claims of its AMRAAM air-to-air missile and its beyond-visual-range derivative, BVRAAM, to British, German and other defense orders.

The alliance is based on 25 years of experience in co-development and co-production programs between BGT and the Hughes Aircraft and Texas Instruments units now acquired by Raytheon.

Also included in the new agreement are the Enhanced Paveway III and HARM missiles, together with a HARM follow-on, should the US and Germany cooperate on future anti-radiation missiles.

BVRAAM, proposed to meet a UK MoD requirement, would be fully interchangeable with AMRAAM, ensuring compatibility with 95% of relevant aircraft in today's Allied inventory, thus promising a market for as many as 15,000 missiles over the next 20 years.

"BVRAAM is the key to the development and growth of the European missile industry, and will create or safeguard 7,000 jobs," Raytheon said.

The company is the only bidder to meet the MoD's request for "an incremental growth path that reflects its desire for smart procurement." This appears to mean an evolution through adoption first of the extended range ERAAM, "which will clearly defeat the current recognized threat, saving the MoD 450 million pounds and delivered two years early."

The company is also offering a fully-costed upgrade should a more advanced threat evolve, and a single-step development-the ramjet-powered future-medium-range FMRAAM.

Should the British government opt for Raytheon's bid, UK industry would benefit from a 62% work share on the UK BVRAAM program and 50% on all US missiles purchased. European partners would benefit from 35% of the work on all missiles sold outside the UK and US. The Netherlands and France could also be involved in future upgrades, beyond the initial beneficiaries, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

Andy Head, Raytheon's UK director of marketing and defense systems, said his firm has been working with Eurofighter GmbH since the early days of the Typhoon's development, and would be supporting that company's export drive.

By Bob Rodwell