MBDA conducted a second successful test of the MMP (Missile de Moyenne Portée or Medium Range Missile) land combat missile on Feb. 12 at the French Procurement Agency DGA Techniques Terrestres site in Bourges, France.
The missile was fired against a steel target positioned at an intermediate range. The test was carried out in lock on before launch mode (fire-and-forget) using the missile seeker’s color tv channel.
Photo: MBDA
“All aspects of the test, covering launch, flight trajectory and target impact, took place optimally and fully conformed to the simulations of MBDA’s project teams,” MBDA said in a statement.
The first MMP test firing took place on Feb. 2. It confirmed accuracy by locking on after launch against a target at a range of over 4,000 meters and hidden from the launch view.
The MMP is a new generation missile meant to be a successor to the Milan weapon system. It is part of the French Ministry of Defence’s Military Planning Act 2014-2019, which aims to modernize the French Army.
“It will enable the armed forces to neutralize, with a high level of precision, the many different types of targets that might be confronted during operations, ensuring that collateral damage is kept to a minimum and at the same time maximizing the safety of the operator,” MBDA said.
To date, MBDA has demonstrated the MMP missile firing at long and intermediate ranges using two types of missile trajectory (high and intermediate), seeker guidance via both visible TV and non-cooled infrared channels, and target lock on before and after launch.
The MMP is currently in the development phase. Delivery to the French Army is scheduled for 2017. Further tests are scheduled during the first quarter of 2015.
MBDA is jointly held by Airbus Group and BAE Systems with 37.5 percent each and Finmeccanica with 25 percent.