Wide Range of Proposed Launch Platforms, Including Semi-Rigid Boats
MBDA launched a naval variant of its 5th-generation MMP ground-based missile at Euronaval on 23 October. An operational evaluation campaign was conducted by the French armed forces in Djibouti this summer to assess MMP performance in high temperature environments, when launched from ground mountings and a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) at high speed.
A total of nine MMP missiles were fired, with all reaching their target. Two missiles were fired from an ECUME RHIB: a first firing from sea to shore and the second at a surface target, demonstrating the missile’s ease of use. This successful evaluation allows MBDA to propose MMP for installation on fast attack craft or semi-rigid boats for missions against hostile ships, coastal defences or armoured vehicles, especially in support of a landing of small units or special forces.
At Euronaval, the MMP system (firing post and missile) is presented on the Zodiac Milpro booth, installed on a HURRICANE-type RHIB. On fast patrol boats, the MMP will be fired from a stabilised turret carrying four ready-to-fire rounds, installed in launchers protecting the missiles from the maritime environment. The turret can be controlled from a dedicated console or from a multifunction console in the ship’s operations centre.
“Today’s launch of a family of naval systems based on the MMP missile is aligned with the trajectory we initiated with the French armies at the launch of the MMP programme in 2011. By deciding at that time to introduce the most modern technologies of guidance and propulsion, together with a multi-effect warhead, we laid the foundations of a family of weapons capable of meeting the most demanding constraints the armed forces may encounter in the field, in terms of tactical effects, in terms of mobility, as well as in environmental terms. The MMP family sees today the advent of naval versions. I have no doubt that the MMP will give birth to other more powerful versions in the near future,” stated the company’s CEO, Antoine Bouvier.
