The French DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) April 8 said it successfully carried out the second qualification firing of the naval cruise missile (MdCN or Missile de Croisière Naval) currently under development by MBDA.
French Navy Cruise Missile 2nd Qualification Firing
Photo: DGA
The firing, which took place at the DGA’s Biscarrosse missile test center in South West France, was representative of a firing from a frigate and demonstrated the missile’s flight capabilities at high altitude.
This success, which again confirms the advanced technical nature of the missile, is the result of intense activity and the coordinated efforts of a number of state bodies, notably, the DGA’s Quality Control Department and its Test and Evaluation Centers as well as the French navy, and industry–MBDA France.
Toward the end of the year, MdCN will equip the French navy’s multi-mission frigates (FREMM) and, around the 2018 timeframe, its Barracuda submarines.
Featuring a range of several hundred kilometers, MdCN is intended for strikes against targets deep within enemy territory. It complements the SCALP air-launched cruise missile from which it is derived.
Carried on combat vessels positioned for lengthy periods at a safe distance in international waters, either overtly–on frigates–or discretely–on submarines–MdCN is designed to carry out missions calling for the destruction of high value strategic targets.
MBDA received the MdCN contract at the end of 2006.