The Telegraph has stated that the missile was fired:
"A statement from the Spanish Ministry of Defence confirmed that a missile had been accidentally fired by one of their Eurofighter jets".
That there was so much concern about the missile hitting other airborne aircraft also suggests that it was fired rather than jettisoned.
Reports indicate that the likely location of the missile is ten's of kilometres from where it was released, again suggesting a fired missile rather than jettisoned.[/QUOTE]
That seems an interesting approach to missile firing, launching without a target in view.
Of course an AMRAAM can expect to get cues from the launcher to engage its seeker, so maybe the launch sequence is more accommodating. Can anyone help clarify?