Project Baz-AR stipulated the development of a custom tailored version of the Matra/Hawkey Siddeley Dynamics AJ.168/AS.37 Martel anti-radar missile(ARM). The work of Matra and Electronics Marcel Dassault came forward relatively quickly despite the 'issue' with the original missile being anything other than user friendly and containing technology of British and US origin. The AS.37 requires three different interchangeable seeker heads to target radars working in three different bands of frequencies. In France of the late 1970s, the development of analogue technology was reaching its peak while digital was still in its infancy: inertial guidance capable of guiding a missile to specific geographic coordinates were non-existent. An anti-radar missile thus required a 'cooperative' target: one that continued to emit throughout the missile's flight or the seeker-head will lose the target and the ability to guide the missile. In order to keep development costs low, the French used the same airframe and aerodynamic configuration of the existing weapon: nevertheless, the Baz-AR received an entirely new broadband passive seeker designated ADAR('autodirector anti-radar') that could not only be pre-set to search for specific frequency before the take off but also adjusted by the pilot once the aircraft was airborne. Although much underestimated until today - foremost because it was overshadowed by contemporary US and Soviet progress in the same field - the work on the Baz-AR also resulted in a missile with an exceptional range and a deadly warhead(largest in the world for any radar missile).

Source: Iraqi Mirages: The Dassault Mirage Family in service with the Iraqi Air Force 1981-1988.

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