Eurofighter Typhoon in Aerial Combat: Attack with Missiles - Bundeswehr

Video from the channel Bundeswehr about Eurofighter Typhoon, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 6:32. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

A Bundeswehr report on a live-fire exercise with AMRAAM missiles from German Eurofighters. The aircraft take off for a firing range over the Atlantic, off northern Scotland, and fire at remote-controlled drones acting as enemy aircraft. The pilots explain how a beyond-visual-range engagement unfolds.

The video places the exercise in the context of modern air combat, where missiles are fired before the adversary is even seen and whoever detects first has the advantage. It poses the pilot's dilemma: turning away too late raises the risk of being detected and attacked, while firing too early lengthens the missile's flight, during which it loses speed once its propellant is spent. It also describes the defence: locating the missile, emitting electronic jamming, releasing chaff or towed decoys and, as a last resort, turning in a tighter arc than the missile.

According to the video, the AMRAAM has a range of up to 80 km, is about 3.5 m long, carries its rocket motor at the rear, a small radar at the front and around 7 kg of net explosive in a fragmentation warhead. The German Eurofighter carries a maximum of six. Its radar detects enemy aircraft at around 100 km and updates the missile's data until it switches to its own radar; at that point the pilot can turn away and disengage.