MBDA starts series production of French MMP land combat

Land June 14, 2016

In line with the initial schedule defined by the French defence procurement agency, DGA, in 2013, MBDA has started series production of the Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) medium-range missile system.

First deliveries to the French armed forces as a replacement for Milan will take place in 2017.

The final development firing of the MMP validated a complex scenario in which the target was hidden at the time of firing and then designated in flight by the gunner by means of the seeker’s feedback image supplied via a fibre-optic link. In this ‘indirect firing’ mode, the MMP offers unparalleled precision and significantly reduces the risk of collateral damage.

Since then, the DGA has declared the start of the qualifying phase for which the first four firings have already been carried out. Since the programme was launched in 2011, some 20 test firings and numerous ground tests have served to validate all the performance values required by the French armed forces, such as system resistance and employability in extreme environment and temperature conditions, shooting under infra-red guidance at a long-range target (4,100m), firing in confined spaces, or warhead versatility, to ensure effectiveness against varied targets such as combat vehicles, dismounted combatants in open spaces, or entrenched in infrastructure.

Notified by the DGA in 2013, the MMP programme will provide 2,850 missiles and 400 firing posts to the French armed forces starting from 2017. The MMP is a fifth generation land combat missile system ensuring superiority in the battlefield through its versatile warhead and its two firing modes – direct firing with ‘fire-and-forget’ or ‘man-in-the-loop’ options, and indirect firing.

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