Missile Moyenne Portée
| Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Anti-tank missile |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| In service | from 2017 |
| Used by | See operators |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 2010 |
| Manufacturer | MBDA |
| Produced | 2014 |
| Number built | 400 launchers and 2,850 missiles to enter French Army service from 2017.[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Weight |
15 kg (round in launch tube) / 11 kg (tripod, firing post and battery) |
| Length | 1.3 m |
| Diameter | 140 mm |
| Warhead | tandem HEAT |
|
| |
| Engine | solid-fuel rocket, two phase thrust (soft launch) |
| Flight ceiling | - |
Launch platform | Individual, vehicle |
Missile Moyenne Portée is a French man-portable anti-tank guided missile. [2][3] It is developed by MBDA Missile Systems and is intended as a replacement for their MILAN, which has been sold worldwide.[4]
Origins
The MMP programme originated in 2009[5] to develop a successor to MBDA's forty-year old MILAN. This was particularly in response to a French Urgent Operational Requirement of 2010 which had led to the purchase of the US-made Javelin, rather than MILAN.[1] The UK, previously a major user of MILAN, had also converted from MILAN to Javelin.
The development programme has been funded privately by MBDA, and is scheduled to be completed by 2017.[5]
In December 2013, an order was placed by the French DGA to equip the French Army as of 2017.[4]
Testing began in 2014, with warhead tests against MBT armour and then in April launches in a test tunnel to confirm missile safety for its launch crew.[4] MMP was displayed at Eurosatory 2014.[6]
Description
The MMP was designed to overcome some of MILAN's limitations in the context of small-scale and counter-insurgency operations post-2000, rather than the Cold War tank war of the original MILAN requirement. In theatres such as Iraq and Afghanistan, man-portable missile were often used against strongpoints and improvised armour within populated areas. Reducing collateral damage to nearby civilians became a major political factor in such campaigns.
Particular developments over existing missiles were for it to be safe for operators within a confined space, i.e. reduced backblast on launch, and for improved guidance that could target non-IR cold targets as well as AFVs with a reduced risk of collateral damage. Compared to its predecessors it contains a great deal of modern and COTS electronics, rather than the previously slow-moving development of military procurement.
Despite these new features, it was still to remain effective against modern AFV and MBT armour. A tandem warhead is used, making it effective against conventional, composite and reactive armour.[6]
MBDA list the main features of the missile as:[2]
- Lightweight, easily man-portable. The first missiles supplied will be man-portable and fired from a light tripod, but vehicle mounts are in development.
- Day or night, all-weather reconnaissance and identification capability
- Safe firing from confined spaces, with reduced blast both behind and forward of the launcher. The missile may be launched with infantry in close proximity ahead.
- Rapid reaction operation, and firing sequence reversibility. Unlike some missiles, such as Stinger, with gas-cooled IR sensors or one-shot thermal batteries, MMP may be locked-on to potential targets repeatedly without consuming resources.
- Lethality against a wide target set: hot[lower-roman 1] and cold targets, including latest MBTs
- Minimising risk of collateral damage.
The missile and its guidance system offer three different operating modes:[2]
- Fire-and-Forget
- Man In The Loop with fibre optic data link
- Lock On After Launch (LOAL) for non line-of-sight (NLOS) and using third party target designation.
The missile carries a dual-band seeker in both IR and visible low-light video.[2] The IR seeker is not cooled, which would restrict some performance for an anti-aircraft missile but is a major simplification for an infantry missile. In particular it avoids relying on a pressurised gas supply which would need to be replenished. A data link from the missile presents the seeker images back to the firing station for Man In The Loop control. This also allows a launch to be aborted without detonation, should a collateral civilian suddenly obscure the target.
Range: 4,000 m[3]
Operators
-
France – French Army: 400 launchers and 2,850 missiles to enter service from 2017.[1]
References
- ↑ i.e. IR-visible targets
- 1 2 3 "MMP: France's New Portable Anti-Armor Missile". Defense Industry Daily. 24 June 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "MMP – Land Combat Missile System". MBDA Missile Systems.
- 1 2 "MMP Land Combat Missile System" (PDF). MBDA Missile Systems.
- 1 2 3 "MMP – Fifth Generation Land Combat Missile System" (PDF). MBDA Missile Systems. June 2014.
- 1 2 "MMP (Missile Moyenne Portée- Medium Range Missile), France". Army Technology.com.
- 1 2 "MBDA unveil MMP 5th generation land combat missile". Combat and Survival. 12 June 2014.