The MMP guided anti-tank missile mounted on a tripod is expected replace Javelin, Spike and MILAN missiles currently in use by NATO and other nations. Photo courtesy MBDA

Nov. 13 (UPI) -- MBDA is offering a naval version of the fifth generation of its Missile Moyenne Portée, or medium range missile, at the Euronaval 2018 technology conference following successful testing of the weapon.

The evaluations were carried out last summer by the French armed forces in Djibouti to test the reliability and effectiveness of the MMP in a hot environment from the ground and rigid hulled inflatable boats operating at high speed. Nine MMP missiles were fired with all hitting their targets, two of them from a RHIB, MBDA said on Tuesday.


"Today's launch of a family of naval systems based on the MMP missile is aligned with the trajectory we initiated with the French Army at the launch of the MMP program in 2011," Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, said in a press release.

The MMP guided anti-tank missile is the designated replacement for the MILAN missile system in the French army. It can use a fire-and-forget mode, a line of sight direct data-link requiring the launcher to stay zeroed on the target, non-line-of-sight lock-on-after launch or third-party target designation using an infrared seeker and/or television guidance. It uses a high explosive anti-tank warhead to penetrate tank armor and other hardened targets with a range of over 4000 meters.

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The naval version of the missile is designed to be effective against hostile ships, coastal defenses or armored vehicles in support of small unit and Special Forces landing operations.

The MMP will be fired from fast patrol boats using a stabilized turret carrying four rounds in launchers to protect them from environmental effects. The turret can be controlled from a dedicated console or from a multifunction console in the ship's operations centre for greater crew protection and the use of the boats sensor systems to detect targets.

The MMP is expected to be widely exported as a potential replacement or supplement for the Javelin, Spike and MILAN missiles in use by other nations including NATO, according to MBDA.

At Euronaval, the MMP system -- firing post and missile -- was displayed on the Zodiac Milpro stand, installed on a Hurricane type RHIB.

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