F-35B Fighter Jet Successfully Tested With New Spear 3 Missile

In the US, a US Marine Corps F-35B fighter jet conducted its first tests with the British Spear 3 small-diameter air-to-ground missile.

This was reported by the official F-35 Lightning II account.

The tests were conducted jointly with specialists from the American company Lockheed Martin and the British company MBDA UK as part of a program to integrate the new weapon onto the aircraft.

These tests marked the initial phase of a broader program to integrate these missiles into British F-35Bs, as well as for potential use by export customers such as Italy and Germany, which are considering this missile for their F-35 and Typhoon fighters.

According to the photos, the aircraft carried four Spear 3 missiles in its internal bays along with an AIM-120 air-to-air missile.

Thus, the aircraft will be capable of carrying 8 missiles of this type in two internal bays, not counting external hardpoints on the aircraft’s launchers.

It is worth noting that as of today, in addition to the Spear 3 missile, the Royal Air Force is awaiting the integration of Meteor air-to-air missiles. This is intended to provide the country with sovereign missile and bomb armaments that will not depend on the United States.

In addition, the aircraft already carries some British weaponry, such as ASRAAM short-range air-to-air missiles and Paveway IV laser-guided precision bombs.

As a reminder, in November 2024, the UK Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the Royal Air Force, conducted the first tests of the small-sized Spear 3 air-launched missile.

The test launch took place in Sweden at the Vidsel military range for missile weapons testing. During the tests, a Typhoon fighter jet launched the missile. The aircraft was part of the Royal Air Force’s 41st Squadron, which collaborates with the BAE Systems test team.

Currently, this team is developing integration software to ensure the compatibility of this type of missile with F-35B fighter jets.

The UK plays a leading role in the Joint Strike Fighter program, which later evolved into the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program.

As a result, the country has gained certain technical capabilities for integrating its own systems and weapons that are unavailable to most nations that joined the program later or purchase aircraft through US foreign military sales.

In addition, the UK serves as the second-largest support center in Europe—after the US—for all variants of the F-35 fighter, particularly the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II.

SPEAR 3

The Spear 3 cruise missile is based on the Brimstone air-launched missile and, instead of a rocket motor, is equipped with a PBS TJ150 turbojet engine and a wing. This has increased the maximum launch range to 150 km.

Thanks to its compact dimensions, the missile can be used with triple-launch pods, allowing the Typhoon fighter to carry up to 18 missiles of this type. However, integration into this aircraft type is not planned under current plans. In turn, the F-35B will be capable of carrying up to 8 Spear 3 missiles.

The missile is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds. For guidance during the mid-course phase, it uses an inertial navigation system and GPS to track its location and trajectory.

The guidance unit is modular and, depending on the mission, can use an active seeker, a semi-active seeker, or a seeker designed to target enemy radar stations.