AssetID: 54317182
Headline: UK Successfully Tests Spear 3 'Miniature Cruise Missile'
Caption: UK Successfully Tests Spear 3 'Miniature Cruise Missile'. The UK's cutting-edge Spear 3 miniature cruise missile has been successfully fired for the first time during trials in Sweden. The missile is designed to destroy enemy ground-based air defences such as surface-to-air missile batteries. The test involved a trial version of the missile, launched from a Typhoon fighter jet high above the Vidsel test range, located inside the Arctic Circle. Once released, the missile's turbojet engine activated, allowing it to autonomously navigate through predefined waypoints towards its target. Spear 3's advanced radar seeker then mapped the target area and used radio-frequency imagery to successfully engage its objective. Despite its size - a third of the current Tomahawk - it boasts a range exceeding 100km (more than 60 miles) and employs a combination of GPS-aided navigation, radar, laser, and GPS-guidance systems to hit its target with precision. Once operational, the Spear 3 will equip the UK's F-35B Lightning jets, with each capable of carrying up to eight of the missiles.
Keywords: Science & Technology,UK,tests,Spear 3,miniature,cruise,missile,cutting-edge,fired,trials,Sweden,design,destroy,enemy,ground-based,air,defences,trial,version,Typhoon,fighter,jet,Vidsel,range,Arctic Circle,turbojet,engine,target,navigation,radar,laser
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