A-Darter Programme Nears Completion.

Denel Dynamics is close to completing the development of its A-Darter short-range air-to-air missile, the South African company has announced.

A-Darter Programme Nears Completion.

The missile is in the final stage of air-launched guided evaluation firing trials, which have seen two missiles being launched from a Saab JAS 39 Gripen at the end of 2014 against Skua high-speed targets to confirm the guidance, control, and free-flight seeker performance, including a lock-on-after-launch engagement. These firings demonstrated a high-G performance greater than required by the specification, the company said.

Two further missile firings are planned for the first part of this year to complete the testing process.

The next phase of the development programme will be formal qualification, which will be concluded with a series of guided firings involving both the South African and Brazilian air forces to confirm performance acceptance.

A-Darter Programme Nears Completion.

Meanwhile, Denel is getting ready to industrialise the A-Darter and is negotiating a production contract for the South African Air Force (SAAF) with the country's arms procurement agency, Armscor. Denel hopes to receive the contract during the first quarter of this year.

Denel is also in discussions with Brazil - which partnered with Denel in the A-Darter development - to begin industrialisation in that country.

Brazil's decision to acquire the Gripen E/F as its future fighter will, to some extent, simplify its A-Darter integration as the SAAF has already gone through this process with its older Gripens. Denel is also beginning work with BAE Systems on integrating the A-Darter with the SAAF's Hawk Mk 120 aircraft.

The A-Darter is a modern 'body-lift' missile with thrust-vector control that gives it a very high angle of attack. It uses a multi-element imaging infrared seeker with a 180° field of view, and digital processing based on the latest available hardware and software. Its rocket motor has a low launch signature, making it harder to detect by countermeasures systems.