MAR-1 is an anti-radiation missile (ARM)

Anti-radiation missile

An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...

 developed by Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

's Mectron and the Aerospace Technical Center (Centro Técnico Aeroespacial, CTA) of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB)

Brazilian Air Force

The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces"...

.

Development and design

Development began in 1997 and was kept under tight secrecy, for many years the weapon's manufacturers refused to acknowledge its existence. The missile is guided by a Brazilian-developed passive anti-radiation seeker designed to target different types of land-based and sea-based radars with different modes, including high power surveillance radars, low power mobile radars and radars used by surface-to-air missile

Surface-to-air missile

A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...

 systems. Enemy radars can be targeted by the missile independently or with targeting data from the launch aircraft's electronic warfare

Electronic warfare

Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...

 systems, such as the radar warning receiver

Radar warning receiver

Radar warning receiver systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected. The warning can then be used, manually or automatically, to evade the detected threat...

. The missile's airframe is constructed from composite materials to reduce its radar cross-section. MAR-1 has been reported to have a range of 25 km when launched from an altitude of approximately 33,000 feet.

In December 2008 the Brazilian

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 government approved the sale of 100 MAR-1 missiles to the Pakistan Air Force

Pakistan Air Force

The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...

 in a contract worth $108 million. These missiles are being integrated with the new JF-17 Thunder

JF-17 Thunder

The PAC JF-17 Thunder , or CAC FC-1 Xiaolong , is a light-weight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation of China, the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex...

 fighter aircraft that the Pakistan Air Force

Pakistan Air Force

The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...

 has inducted.

See also

• Anti-radiation missile (ARM)
  Anti-radiation missile
  An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...
  
  
• List of missiles

Similar missiles:

• AGM-88 HARM
  AGM-88 HARM
  The AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile is a tactical, air-to-surface missile designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems. It was originally developed by Texas Instruments as a replacement for the AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-78 Standard ARM system...
  
  
• MBDA ALARM