Eurosatory 2022: Diehl touts advanced capabilities of FCAAM future air-to-air missile

A conceptual model of the FCAAM future air-to-air missile was showcased at the Eurosatory 2022 event in Paris. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Diehl Defence has highlighted the advanced features and capabilities that its Future Combat Air-to-Air Missile (FCAAM) will bring to the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/Système de Combat Aérien Futur (SCAF) being developed by France, Germany, and Spain.

Speaking on 13 June at the Eurosatory 2022 exhibition in Paris, Markus Isphording, Air Force Systems' head of marketing, said that the FCAAM concept, which is designed to be a next-generation AIM-2000 IRIS-T missile (also known as IRIS-T FCAAM), will feature the modern design, components, networks, datalinks, and propulsion system needed to equip the New Generation Fighter (NGF) element of the FCAS/SCAF.

“FCAAM is part of FCAS. It is currently a notional design – not even a prototype at this stage, but it will be a stealthy next-generation IRIS-T that will feature modernised components, an infrared (IR) seeker that will give it anti-jamming abilities, an uplink to relay information [back to the launch aircraft] during flight, and perhaps a pulse motor for an enhanced kill probability,” Isphording said.

Diehl product literature for the FCAAM noted an all-aspect engagement capability, including against other missiles, thrust vectoring, a multispectral mode seeker, artificial intelligence algorithms, and other top-end capabilities. Isphording said that these capabilities will be available across a much larger range spectrum from very-short range to near-beyond visual range. He added, though, that the FCAAM is focused on the sub-20 n mile engagement range.